ESOT Congress Daily Recap

Closing Session: Greening Transplantation Network to Address Climate Changes Challenges

Kathryn Wood and Luciano Potena welcomed delegates to the congress's Closing Session, titled ‘Greening the Transplantation Network to Address Climate Change Challenges’.

“In our first session, we explored the threats posed by climate change,” noted Potena. “Today, we’ll focus on practical solutions we can implement to create a more sustainable future.”

David Grimaldi opened the session with a discussion on decarbonising healthcare for long-term sustainability. “Healthcare, like many sectors that rely on machinery, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions,” he explained. “The key question is: how much does healthcare contribute?”

Grimaldi compared the carbon footprints of different countries and broke down the healthcare-related activities, such as pharmaceutical production, that are responsible for the highest emissions. “Reducing our carbon emissions is a significant challenge,” he emphasised, noting that global fossil fuel CO₂ emissions have only declined by more than 5% in one year over the past five decades, which was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He proposed several strategies, including choosing train travel over flying – by far the most carbon-intensive mode of transport – and manufacturing medical equipment within Europe, which generally results in a lower carbon footprint compared to production elsewhere. He also advocated for the use of reusable equipment, such as kidney bowls, rather than disposable alternatives.

Next, Mark Skylar-Scott, Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University, presented an inspiring talk on the future of 3D-printed organs. He shared exciting developments from fascinating ongoing research, offering a glimpse into how this innovative technology could accelerate the path toward more sustainable transplant solutions.

Paula Williamson discussed how to enable greener biomedical research, before Felix Rundel focused on practical ways in which scientific conferences can be reimagined to reduce their carbon footprint.

Paula Williamson discussed strategies to promote greener practices in biomedical research, followed by Felix Rundel, who shared practical approaches for reimagining scientific conferences to significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

The session also featured the presentation of the ESOT Legacy Award (see details below), along with the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci Award ceremony. This year’s distinguished recipients were Dharesh Raj Amarnath (Clinical Science) and Sumoyee Basu (Basic Science). Congratulations to both awardees on this well-deserved recognition, whose abstracts were selected from over 1,600 abstracts.

The Closing Address was delivered by ESOT President Gabriel Oniscu, who reflected on the impact of the congress. “If each of you takes just one small step back to your workplace, we will have achieved something meaningful here at the ESOT Congress in London,” he said. He expressed his gratitude to all participants for their valuable contributions, extended thanks to the dedicated ESOT team, and concluded by introducing the incoming ESOT President, Olivier Thaunat.