LABORATORY
The
Midwest Transplant Network is an independent regional laboratory specializing
in laboratory procedures to support organ retrieval and transplantation. Laboratories
are located in Westwood and Wichita Kansas and provide quality services to the
medical and transplant community with expertise in histocompatibility (serology
and molecular methodologies), flow cytometry and molecular diagnostics. Both
laboratories are Medicare/CLIA certified and have accreditation by the American
Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics
(ASHI). The Westwood laboratory is also accredited by the College of American
Pathologists (CAP). The Midwest Transplant Network laboratory has been a leader
in HLA testing in the Midwest region since its inception in 1973. It has been
the sole provider of histocompatibility services for solid organ transplantation
in Kansas and the Western half of Missouri since. In
a concerted effort to keep abreast of new developments in the histocompatibility
field, the laboratory has been a major contributor and participant in national
and international histocompatibility workshops, has been involved in such projects
as defining the presence of new antigens and in studying the long-term graft
survival related to matched vs. mismatched organs, crossmatch techniques and
other factors. The flow cytometry laboratory was established in 1982 to complement
the transplant program and has expanded to encompass immune monitoring outside
the transplant field. Prospective three color crossmatches for regraft patients
has become standard in our crossmatch protocol. The molecular diagnostics department
was established in 1992 and was the first to develop Cytomegalovirus testing
by PCR in the area. HLA typing for Class I and Class II is routinely performed
by molecular methods. The Midwest Transplant Network is committed to providing
the transplant community with high quality services to benefit patients and
research programs. For additional information email us at info@mwob.org.
