Transmission of infection via transplantation of allografts including solid organs, eyes, and tissues are uncommon but potentially life-threatening events. Donor-derived infections have been documented following organ, tissue, and ocular transplants. Each year, more than 70 000 organs, 100 000 corneas, and 2 million human tissue allografts are implanted worldwide. Single donors may provide allografts for >100 organ and tissue recipients; each allograft carries some, largely unquantifiable, risk of disease transmission. Protocols for screening of organ or tissue donors for infectious risk are nonuniform, varying with the type of allograft, national standards, and availability of screening assays. In the absence of routine, active surveillance, coupled with the common failure to recognize or report transmission events, few data are available on the incidence of allograft-associated disease transmission. Research is needed to define the optimal screening assays and the transmissibility of infection with allografts. Approaches are reviewed that may contribute to safety in allograft transplantation.

Transplantation of organs and tissues (bone, tendon, skin, cornea) will always be associated with some risk for transmission of infectious diseases from donor to recipient. Understanding and minimizing this risk is difficult for many reasons: donor screening processes vary, screening for every infectious organism is not possible, and assessment of recipient health after transplantation to determine possibility of disease transmission is often not adequate. In May 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to address these challenges and establish a research agenda for minimizing these transplant transmission risks. Attendees agreed that the focus should be on standardizing donor screening, compiling disease transmissibility data, monitoring of transplant recipients’ health, and assessing effectiveness of measures to minimize disease transmission. Collaboration and sharing of perspectives, experiences, and resources of all stakeholders in the transplantation process (government, private industry, and health care providers) can improve the safety of organ and tissue transplantation.

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) survivors are at risk for development of late complications and require lifelong monitoring for screening and prevention of late effects. There is an increasing appreciation of the issues related to healthcare delivery and coverage that are faced by HCT survivors. The 2016 National Institutes of Health Blood and Marrow Transplant Late Effects Initiative included an international and broadly representative Healthcare Delivery Working Group that was tasked with identifying research gaps pertaining to healthcare delivery and to identify initiatives that may yield a better understanding of the long-term value and costs of care for HCT survivors. There is a paucity of literature in this area. Critical areas in need of research include pilot studies of novel and information technology supported models of care delivery and coverage for HCT survivors along with development and validation of instruments that capture patient reported outcomes. Investment in infrastructure to support this research such as linkage of databases including electronic health records and routine inclusion of endpoints that will inform analyses focused around care delivery and coverage are required.

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