Transplant Patients Offered Better Care with New Gene Test

A new alternative to invasive, painful biopsies for determining heart transplant rejection is both available and reimbursable. The molecular expression test molecular expression test is a non-invasive alternative to biopsy that is safe, effective, quantitative, and reproducible with predictive capabilities biopsy does not provide. The test provides physicians with a broader clinical picture, enabling them to identify patients at low risk for current and future rejection.

XDx, a molecular diagnostics company based in South San Francisco, CA, has announced expanded use and reimbursement for its first commercial offering, the AlloMap molecular expression test. Data from a recent study show that the testing method, which detects the absence of acute cellular rejection in heart transplant recipients, can now be used as early as two months post-transplant to rule out rejection.

The California Medicare contractor, National Heritage Insurance Company (NHIC) has recently made a decision to provide reimbursement coverage for the AlloMap test effective for claims submitted on or after Jan. 1, 2006. Medicare bills for AlloMap testing are currently billed through NHIC because the test is conducted by XDx in its South San Francisco, California clinical laboratory.

For more information visit www.allomap.com.