We have the honour to chat with David Cooper, a living legend in xenotransplantation, who has followed this field for over half a century. This is a captivating discussion about the evolution of xenotransplantation, exploring the scientific, ethical, and practical aspects of building this emerging ecosystem, a field we all observe with great curiosity and high expectations.

Ilaria Gandolfini, from the Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Italy — not far from the ERA headquarters — unpacks the changing landscape of infection prophylaxis for renal transplant recipients in 2025. In this dense and informative episode, she highlights the current infectious challenges in renal transplantation, the emergence of new infectious risks, the development of novel treatment options, and reviews both prophylactic and preemptive strategies.

Christophe Mariat, from Saint-Étienne, France, and Chair of the ERA DESCaRTES Working Group, takes us through the complex topic of adapting anti-rejection treatment in the context of a failing renal graft. He shares valuable insights on renal graft survival rates, strategies for adjusting immunosuppressive treatments when the kidney starts failing, and the adaptations needed in antirejection strategies once dialysis is resumed.

Everything about atypical HUS is atypical, and frankly a bit annoying. The differential diagnosis is as wide as the ocean and when it comes to genetics, well that would make even a psychologically stable fellow nervous. Luckily, we’ve found help of the highest degree. Neil Sheerin has been tackling this animal for ages and has gotten to know all of its tricks and dirty plays. Tune in to our atypical HUS episode and gain the upper ground on this beast. Learn about diagnosis, lab testing, treatment, stopping treatment, genetics and transplantation in this easy-to-follow episode of A Pinch of Salt. You’ll see clearly now the pain is gone. 

We know, C3 glomerulopathy is a difficult subject. All this complement talk will make a person tired and slightly confused. Here’s your chance to discover this disease in an easy yet comprehensive and meaningful way. Marina Vivarelli, C3G-s enemy in chief, is going to share the most important information about this disease, everything from the pathophysiology and genetics, to diagnostics, differential diagnosis, the link between C3G and immune complex GN, treatment and so much more. And all of this explained in a way that even we could understand. You’ll C3. Dive in and find out for yourself.

Ever wanted to attend a master class on IgG4-related disease? Even if your answer is no, you still won’t want to miss this episode of A Pinch of Salt. John Stone, a world renowned expert in IgG4RD, is going to share all the clinically relevant details on how to diagnose IgG4RD, how to do the staging, how important is a biopsy, which lab tests to use to assess disease activity, how to treat these patients and how to assess the response to therapy. Everything you never knew you wanted to know about IgG4RD in one place. Your patients will be grateful. 

In this episode of A Pinch of Salt, you'll get the unique opportunity of trying to experience what it's actually like to be a dialysis patient, a kidney failure patient, what are the issues they're dealing with and how can we as physicians help them get through the day. I think it's one of the valuable opportunities that you really shouldn't miss because at the end of the day we really want to help them, don’t we? Listen to the episode with Malene Deele, a kidney failure patient, also chairman of the Danish Kidney Association.

We’re focusing on a challenging topic: anticoagulation in CKD patients with atrial fibrillation. With up to 25% of CKD patients affected, managing this common arrhythmia is no easy task. How do we balance stroke prevention and bleeding risks? What’s the role of DOACs versus vitamin K antagonists? And should dialysis patients even receive anticoagulation? Are there any new treatment options? To help us untangle these questions, we’re joined by Frida Welander from Karolinska University, Sweden, an expert on the field. Don’t miss this insightful discussion.