Approximately 1 in 9 Americans has chronic kidney diseases , and an additional 20 million are at risk.   When the normal function of the kidney is impaired, it is unable to remove wastes, fluid, drugs, and toxins.  It also fails to regulate hormones that control blood pressure, red blood cells numbers, and bone stability (1). Kidney failure can be treated with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or kidney transplantation.  Of these three options, only kidney transplantation has been proven to be provide an increased survival and a dramatically improved quality of life.

Currently, there are almost 70,000 candidates in the US waiting for a kidney transplant (2).   Many of them will not live long enough to receive an organ.  Our goal is to help those in need by developing a transplant center of excellence, with unsurpassed breakthrough innovation in healthcare, education, and research. In order to achieve this, we have built a cohesive, friendly, and collaborative multidisciplinary center that will save lives, set new health-care standards, and further enhance our reputation.  Furthermore, we offer a vast array of auxiliary services to ensure that we also meet the entire social needs of our patients and their families. The transplant process is schematically shown in the graph below, and starts when the candidate contacts us, directly or via his/her referring physician. 

This leads to an evaluation by a multidisciplinary team composed of many specialists, and the performance of tests such as a chest X-ray, EKG, and blood typing.  Once approved, the candidate is listed with UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing).  Kidney allocation is based on medical urgency, blood type, and waiting time.  The availability of a living donor, which may be a relative, friend, or altruistic individual, will allow the recipient to circumvent the waiting time for a deceased donor, that may be as long as several years.  Performing a kidney transplant even before the recipient is on dialysis, or soon thereafter, is associated with better outcomes. In cases of recipients with live donors, after making sure that removing a kidney will not harm the potential donor, the surgery is scheduled at a convenient time.  In cases of recipients who will receive organs from deceased (cadaveric) donors, the surgery is scheduled when a kidney becomes available.

The live donor surgery is performed laparoscopically, through several small incisions, leading to a more prompt recovery and return to normal activities.  Our laparoscopic donor program is lead by Dr. Louis Kavoussi, Chairman, The Arthur Smith Institute for Urology , one of the two surgeons who performed the first such surgery in the world. The recipient surgery lasts for several hours.  Immunosuppression medications, that prevent the body from attacking and damaging the new kidney transplant, are started at this point, and are continued for the life of the organ.  Once the surgery is complete, the recipient is taken to a recovery room and subsequently to a floor with specialized staff that will ensure a safe recovery.  The length of stay in the hospital is variable, and may last from a few days to several weeks, depending on a number of factors such as the health of the patient before the surgery.

After discharge from the hospital, recipients visit our clinic twice a week.  They undergo a thorough monitoring, and medications are adjusted according to the needs of each individual case.  As stability is reached, the visits become less frequent, and eventually long-term care is undertaken in association with the referring physicians. We believe that our efforts will provide our patients with a stellar transplantation service, based on a culture of safety, clinical and research performance, operational precision, and financial efficiency. 

1. National Kidney Foundation  http://www.kidney.org
2. http://www.unos.org

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