Who we are

The University Hospital Federation “SUrvival oPtimization in Organ Transplantation” (FHU SUPORT) was launched the 20th June 2014 by hospital and university teams from Tours, Poitiers and Limoges involved in organ transplantation.

In light of its structuring character, the FHU SUPORT has submitted an application for the HUGO (University Hospitals of the Great West) call for projects launched in 2021. Now carried by the CHU and the University of Tours, under the coordination of Professor SALAMÉ, the scope of the FHU has been extended to the other university hospitals of Grand Ouest (Angers, Brest, Nantes, Rennes) and also associates the Orléans Regional Hospital Center and the Hospital Center of Le Mans. On December 3, 2021 the FHU SUPORT has got a new label HUGO for 5 years (2022-2026).

The increased use of transplantation as a therapy is worsening the organ shortage and forces the extension of donor acceptance criteria and the search for new donor sources. Despite an undeniable short term success, due to major advances in surgery, medicine and research, transplant patients still face the risk of chronic graft complications and loss.
The aim of the University Hospital Federation SUPORT is based on a translational strategy to create a unique healthcare and research network “donor-organ-recipient” in order to structure the care and optimization of graft and recipient survival, regarding kidney, liver and heart transplantation.

To succeed in this project, the FHU SUPORT relies on a permanent transfer between basic research and clinical research, with significant transfer with industry:

• to improve the clinical procedures and create new research protocols to improve patients’ quality of life
• to stimulate innovation and clinical research and strengthen partnerships with private secto

For clinical activity in organ transplantation, the FHU SUPORT represents an important part at the national level:

FHU SUPORT transplantation /MOP activity in 2021 (for FHU SUPORT centers only)

	Kidney	Liver	Heart	MOP[1]	MOP (M3)[2]
Angers	60			23	22
Brest	48			21	12
Le Mans				3	0
Limoges	38			8	0
Nantes			23
Orléans				11	7
Poitiers	77			22	24
Rennes	72	136	19	29	24
Tours	130	102	13	35	18
TOTAL	425	238	55	152	107
TOTAL France	3252	1225	370	1392	559
% FHU/France 9 centers	13,1%	19,4%	13,4%	10,9%	19,1%

The FHU SUPORT involves the functional transplantation units of the university hospital centers and the universities of Angers, Brest, Limoges, Nantes, Poitiers, Rennes, Tours, and the research organization members of AVIESAN (INSERM units U1227-Brest, U1092/U1248-Limoges, U1313-Poitiers, CIC1414-Rennes and university team EA4245-Tours).
A multidisciplinary team: biologists, biochemists, immunologists, bioinformaticians, hepatologists, nephrologists, cardiologists, urologists, internists, organ specialists, psychiatrists, psychologists specialised in cognition, health economists, philosophers and ethicists.

Scientists, physicians and surgeons of the FHU commit themselves to promoting multidisciplinary and translational approaches to develop diagnostic and therapeutic innovation.