For his scientific work on therapeutic apheresis, Prof. Dr. Klaus Stahl was awarded the €3,000 Apheresis Innovation Prize from the Hans and Marlies Stock Foundation within the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft. The prize was awarded in collaboration with the German Society of Nephrology and presented at a ceremony in Leipzig on October 10, 2026.

The award is based on the international multicenter study “Therapeutic plasma exchange in amatoxin-associated acute liver failure—results from the multicenter Amanita-PEX study,” which was published in 2025 in the journal *Critical Care *. Prof. Dr. Richard Taubert also played a key role in this scientific work. The publication is available via PubMed.

Plasma Exchange for Life-Threatening Acute Liver Failure

Poisoning with amatoxins, which are found particularly in the death cap mushroom, can lead to acute liver failure. In severe cases, a liver transplant is necessary. The role of therapeutic plasma exchange (plasmapheresis, PEX) in this specific form of acute liver failure had not been sufficiently clarified until now.

The Amanita-PEX study therefore retrospectively analyzed treatment data from 111 patients at 25 centres between 2013 and 2024. The results provide important data on a rare but potentially life-threatening condition for which randomized controlled trials are difficult to conduct due to the small number of cases. The award underscores the importance of international research collaborations for the further development of therapeutic apheresis and the improvement of treatment options for acute liver failure.

(10/2026)