At the annual meeting for the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) this week, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced two new additions to its transplant diagnostics portfolio. These new products will enable transplant laboratories to better characterize samples and bring speed and confidence to the transplant laboratory. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins are expressed on all nucleated cells in the human body and are also found on the surface of many other tissues and organs. Candidates for organ transplant are routinely screened for the presence of antibodies directed against non-self HLA, and results are used to identify compatible donors. The presence of donor-specific HLA antibodies usually precludes transplantation. A new serum treatment reagent is designed to address nonspecific antibody reactivity in some samples. This novel solution was developed in collaboration with scientists from Terasaki Innovation Center and is expected to be available later this year. Also announced at ASHI was a rapid next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay that will provide high-resolution data in five hours, reducing the time it currently takes to characterize the HLA genes in solid organs from deceased donors using NGS. Developed for use on the Oxford Nanopore platform, the new assay will improve time-to-results and confidence in decision-making. The assay is among significant investments Thermo Fisher is making in NGS, including its own portfolio of Ion Torrent NGS solutions for a wide range of applications.