Dominant, over-dominant, recessive and allelic models were applied for the analysis of genotype distribution. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, differences in gene polymorphism distributions between patients and controls were analyzed with 262 x 2 tests or Fisher's exact test where appropriate. P-values, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained by SPSS 16.0 for Windows (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL). P-values ,0.05 were considered statistically significant. Infectious Disease Transmission during Organ and Tissue Transplantation Infectious disease transmission through organ and tissue transplantation has been associated with severe complications in recipients. Determination of donor-derived infectious risk associated with organ and tissue transplantation is challenging and limited by availability and performance characteristics of current donor epidemiologic screening (e.g., questionnaire) and laboratory testing tools. Common methods and standards for evaluating potential donors of organs and tissues are needed to facilitate effective data collection for assessing the risk for infectious disease transmission. Research programs can use advanced microbiological technologies to define infectious risks posed by pathogens that are known to be transplant transmissible and provide insights into transmission potential of emerging infectious diseases for which transmission characteristics are unknown. Key research needs are explored. Stakeholder collaboration for surveillance and research infrastructure is required to enhance transplant safety.  Non-HIV Pneumocystis pneumonia: do conventional community-acquired pneumonia guidelines under estimate its severity? BACKGROUND: Non-HIV Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) can occur in immunosuppressed patients having malignancy or on immunosuppressive agents. To classify severity, the A-DROP scale proposed by the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS), the CURB-65 score of the British Respiratory Society (BTS) and the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) are widely used in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Japan. To evaluate how correctly these conventional prognostic guidelines for CAP reflect the severity of non-HIV PCP, we retrospectively analyzed 21 patients with non-HIV PCP. METHODS: A total of 21 patients were diagnosed by conventional staining and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for respiratory samples with chest x-ray and computed tomography (CT) findings. We compared the severity of 21 patients with PCP classified by A-DROP, CURB-65, and PSI. Also, patients’ characteristics, clinical pictures, laboratory results at first visit or admission and intervals from diagnosis to start of specific-PCP therapy were evaluated in both survivor and non-survivor groups. RESULTS: Based on A-DROP, 18 patients were classified as mild or moderate; respiratory failure developed in 15 of these 18 (83.3%), and 7/15 (46.7%) died. Based on CURB-65, 19 patients were classified as mild or moderate; respiratory failure developed in 16/19 (84.2%), and 8 of the 16 (50%) died. In contrast, PSI classified 14 as severe or extremely severe; all of the 14 (100%) developed respiratory failure and 8/14 (57.1%) died. There were no significant differences in laboratory results in these groups. The time between the initial visit and diagnosis, and the time between the initial visit and starting of specific-PCP therapy were statistically shorter in the survivor group than in the non-survivor group. CONCLUSIONS: Conventional prognostic guidelines for CAP could underestimate the severity of non-HIV PCP, resulting in a therapeutic delay resulting in high mortality. The most important factor to improve the mortality of non-HIV PCP is early diagnosis and starting of specific-PCP therapy as soon as possible. Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) not related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can occur in immunosuppressed patients having malignancy or on immunosuppressive agents [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . The mortality of patients with PCP without HIV infections ranges from 0 to 70% [1, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] , compared to that of HIV-infected PCP patients, which ranges from 10 to 20% [1, 4, 9] . Besides, mortality rates as high as 60-75% have been reported in PCP patients without AIDS who required mechanical ventilation [11, 12] . The higher mortality among non-HIV PCP patients has been attributed to severe lung inflammation [1, 4, 10] , although the exact etiology accounting for these large differences in mortality has not yet been determined.