Scientific Director of EF CLIF Prof. Rajiv Jalan, who serves as Scientific Coordinator of the study chaired the meeting and talked about the latest recommendations for transplanting ACLF patients introduced by healthcare authorities in Spain and the UK – “a game-changer for these very sick patients”. Prof. Thierry Gustot, who serves as Principal Investigator of the study, presented the aims and characteristics of CHANCE, and Anna Bosch, General Manager of EF CLIF, described the current status of the study highlighting the rapid progress with ethics approvals and contract negotiations in many participating centres. Cristina Sánchez, Head of the Data Management Center at EF CLIF, explained how team members can stay informed about supplied materials, how to process samples, the import/export procedures and stock controls. 

A final session was dedicated to sharing experiences, challenges, and refining protocols. Dr. Sebastián Marciano (Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Argentina), Dr. Rachel Westbrook (Royal Free Hospital – University College London, UK), Dr. Giovanni Perriconi (ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Italy), Dr. Vinay Sundaram (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, LA, USA) and Prof. Mohamed Rela (Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Centre, India) shared their insights about the challenges they had encountered and how they overcomed these obstacles. Issues raised were further discussed among participants who shared their own lived experiences.

The CHANCE study is collaborative effort between EF CLIF, ELITA and ILTS aiming to evaluate the benefit of liver transplantation for patients with severe ACLF.