Health Outcomes in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation (HOPE SOT)

Project Summary

Life threatening organ failure can be rescued by transplantation, but children and families who have survived these critical illnesses experience chronic stress, isolation, family disruption, and inability to participate in “normal” activities. Some children may also develop anxiety or post-traumatic stress symptoms. These experiences can have multiple impacts, including on physical, social, and emotional development. Over time, this can also impact the health and outcomes of the transplant and the quality of life experienced by the transplant recipient and their family. 

The HOPE SOT project will evaluate data collected over time from periodic medical, mental health and quality of life screening, in patients from the transplant clinic at BC Children's Hospital. The goal is ultimately to develop a better understanding of what factors are related to an improved long-term health experience and quality of life of children living with a heart, liver or kidney transplant.

This study is a single-centre cohort study being conducted by the Blydt-Hansen Research Team at BC Children's Hospital.

This Program was established with the support of the Transplant Research Foundation of BC and an establishment grant by the BC Children's Hospital Foundation.

Project Status

Status: Recruiting
Study Start Date: January 25, 2017
Study End Date: August 29, 2026

Study Enrollment Status: Active
Start Date: February 2017
End Date: August 20, 2025

Project Team

Principal Investigator

Tom Blydt-Hansen
 
Co-Investigators

Dr. Anita Cote
Dr. Derek Human
Dr. Hana Mitchell
Dr. Kathryn Armstrong
Dr. Orlee Guttman
Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren
Dr. Sylvie Lebel

Research Team Members

Harry Chae, Undergraduate student
Mike Guron, Research Assistant
Tatsuma Hind, Undergraduate Student
Monica Ho, Research Coordinator
Candice Wiedman, Research Assistant
Azim Ahmed, Undergraduate Student
Sargun Bajaj, Undergraduate Student
David Camarda, Research Student/Volunteer
Amber Campbell, Research Assistant
Astrid De Souza, Research Associate
Kerry Hu, Research Student/Volunteer
Emma Keay, Undergraduate Student
Beatrice Kraljii, Research Student/Volunteer
Melissa Kong, Undergraduate Student
Adina Landsberg, Undergraduate Student
Oscar Lau, Research Student/Volunteer
Julie Matheson, Research Coordinator
Daniel Mun, Research Student/Volunteer

Enrollment Eligibility Criteria
  1. Individual is a patient in the Multi-Organ Transplant clinic (or an external transplant program)
  2. Individual is the parent/guardian of a patient in the Multi-Organ Transplant clinic (or an external transplant program)
  3. Parental/guardian consent (written permission) and, if appropriate, child assent

For more information, please click here.

Publications
  1. Hind, T., Lui, S., Moon, E., Broad, K., Lang, S., Schreiber, R. A., Armstrong, K., & Blydt‐Hansen, T. D. (2021). Post‐traumatic stress as a determinant of quality of life in pediatric solid‐organ transplant recipients. Pediatric Transplantation, 25(4). doi.org/10.1111/petr.14005
     
  2. Landsberg, A., Riazy, M., & Blydt‐Hansen, T. D. (2020). Yield and utility of surveillance kidney biopsies in pediatric kidney transplant recipients at various Time Points post‐transplant. Pediatric Transplantation, 25(2). doi.org/10.1111/petr.13869
     
  3. Golan, O., Dyer, R., Sinclair, G., & Blydt-Hansen, T. (2020). Investigating oxythiamine levels in children undergoing kidney transplantation and the risk of immediate post-operative metabolic and hemodynamic decompensation. Pediatric Nephrology, 36(4), 987–993. doi.org/10.1007/s00467-020-04797-9
     
  4. Lui, S., de Souza, A., Sharma, A., Fairbairn, J., Schreiber, R., Armstrong, K., & Blydt‐Hansen, T. (2020). Physical activity and its correlates in a pediatric solid‐organ transplant population. Pediatric Transplantation, 24(5). doi.org/10.1111/petr.13745
     
  5. Lamarche, C., Sharma, A. K., Goldberg, A., Wang, L., & Blydt‐Hansen, T. D. (2020). Biomarker implementation: Evaluation of the decision‐making impact of CXCL10 testing in a pediatric cohort. Pediatric Transplantation, 25(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/petr.13908
Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the transplant patients and families who have agreed to be part of the registry and for their commitment to advancing transplant care through research. We acknowledge the large number of research staff, trainees and volunteers who have contributed to developing the registry and entering data to the registry.

Azim Ahmed, Undergraduate Student
Sargun Bajaj, Undergraduate Student
David Camarda, Research Student/Volunteer
Amber Campbell, Research Assistant
Astrid De Souza, Research Associate

Affiliated Studies