On Friday 11th of April 2025 the annual extra mural meeting 2025 will be held in Berlin, Germany. Topics that will be covered are external proficiency testing, future directions in recipient and donor HLA typing in Eurotransplant, the ET desensitization program, and a scientific lecture on transplanting highly immunized patients.
Please contact the ETRL with any questions regarding the extramural meeting.
It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the sudden passing of Prof. Dr. Frans Claas on Sunday, 2 February 2025, while he was on holiday in South Africa. Frans was not only a great mentor and leader to many of us who had the opportunity to work with him but also a wonderful person full of life and inspiration.
Frans made significant contributions to the field of transplantation immunology through his patient-oriented research and active involvement in Eurotransplant, EFI, Europdonor (Matchis), the Dutch Transplant Foundation (NTS), Eurocord, ASHI, Leiden University Medical Center, and the University of Antwerp. He strongly believed in international collaboration and generously shared his knowledge worldwide, supporting many HLA laboratories and research centers.
As the ETRL team, we will deeply miss and fondly remember Frans who was the ETRL director from 1985 to 2020. We remain committed to carrying forward his core principles of kindness, friendship and collaboration.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to Frans’ wife, Ilse, along with his family, friends, and colleagues around the world.
On August 15, 2024, Gonca E. Karahan was appointed as the Director of the Eurotransplant Reference Laboratory (ETRL) and she is looking forward to this role, where she can combine her experience in the histocompatibility field with her research expertise. Currently, as a senior scientist, Gonca E. Karahan leads a Dutch Kidney Foundation-funded project investigating the role of HLA-specific memory B cell detection in the immunological risk assessment of highly sensitized kidney transplant patients undergoing desensitization treatments.
Gonca E. Karahan studied biomedical sciences at Istanbul University, Turkey, graduating in 2000. She spent the next 11 years at the HLA Laboratory of Istanbul Medical Faculty, where she combined patient-related work with pursuing an MSc in 2003 and a PhD in 2010 in medical biology under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Mahmut Carin and Prof. Dr. Fatma Oguz. Her research during this time focused on anti-HLA antibody detection in sensitized kidney transplant recipients.
In 2012, she moved to the Netherlands to further her research in immunology, joining the Transplantation Immunology Research Laboratory at the Leiden University Medical Center. As a PhD student under supervision of Dr. Sebastiaan Heidt and Prof. Dr. Frans Claas, she developed several methods for HLA-specific memory B cell detection in kidney transplant patients. After earning her PhD in immunology in 2017, she continued as a post-doctoral scientist in the same group, expanding her research to study anti-HLA antibody characteristics and alloreactive immune memory.
Are you ready to lead a team of professionals in the field of histocompatibility and organ allocation? Do you have a PhD in immunology, extensive knowledge of the HLA system, and a track record in research? Are you skilled in high-precision diagnostics and adept at problem-solving? If this sounds like the challenge you’re looking for, then we look forward to meeting you. Please visit the LUMC jobs website for more information.
On Friday 15th of March 2024 the annual extra mural meeting 2024 will be held in Munich, Germany. Topics that will be covered are external proficiency testing, experiences with virtual crossmatching, feasibility of retrospective recipient center crossmatches, and a scientific lecture on xenotransplantation.
Please contact the ETRL with any questions regarding the extramural meeting.
The Eurotransplant Reference Laboratory (ETRL) is seeking a new colleague to join our enthusiastic team at Leiden University Medical Center. Are you a motivated HLO graduate with a passion for immunology and an interest in organ allocation? If so, we would love to meet you! Please visit the LUMC jobs website.
The 2023 winte Newsletter has been published and contains information on some personnel changes within the ETRL, as well as the preliminary program of the 2024 extramural meeting, which will be held in Munich, Germany. As usual at the end of the year, also the dates for the EPT shipments of next year are announced. We hope you enjoy reading.
The 2023 spring Newsletter has been published and contains information on the virtual crossmatch, the use of HLA-DQA, DPB and DPA unacceptable antigens for AM eligibility, and an announcement of the ET desensitization program. We hope you enjoy reading.
On Friday 10th of March 2023 the annual extra mural meeting 2023 will be held in Mechelen, Belgium. Topics that will be covered are external proficiency testing, virtual crossmatching, CDC screening, and a scientific lecture on post-transplant rejection diagnostics.
Please contact the ETRL with any questions regarding the extramural meeting.
Along with the introduction of the virtual crossmatch, the ETRL releases new calculators for calculating the vPRA and chance on a donor within the various ET allocation schemes. These calculators are based on the ETRL reference panel 4.0 and allow entry of data on the allele level, as well as the broad and split antigen level for 11 loci.
These calculator are also incorporated into the ENISnext, allowing for accurate reflection on transplantability based on immunology.