With advances in surgical technique and improved drugs to prevent infection and rejection, organ transplantation is now recognized as the most effective treatment for many diseases. UCSF is a leader in both adult and pediatric transplants for liver, kidney, pancreas and small bowel, attracting patients nationally and internationally. Children who previously had little hope of survival in the event of organ failure, now thrive as healthy adults with transplanted organs. At UCSF, each tranplant candidate is carefully evaluated by a multidisciplinary team that includes transplant surgeons, gastroenterologists, nephrologists, hepatologists, infectious disease specialists, social workers and other health professionals. Patients receive state-of-the-art care for this highly complex procedure and have intensive long-term followup. As one of the oldest and most respected programs in transplantation, UCSF has served as a watermark for numerous transplant centers around the world. Our liver transplant program is one of the nation's largest, has a one-year survival rate of 92 percent (compared with the national average of 87 percent), and achieves excellent results even with high-risk patients. The UCSF kidney transplant program, also one of the nation's largest, was established in 1964 and has completed more than 8,300 such procedures. The Division of Transplant Surgery has a thriving research program and offers a broad portfolio of clinical trials led by Principal Investigators and supported by a dedicated staff of trial coordinators and clinical research nurses. UCSF transplant researchers are leaders in the field, pursuing studies related to organ preservation, utilization, and allocation; surgical technique; pre and post-transplant medical management; drug investigations, human immune responses, and more. Significant milestones have been achieved at UCSF in immunogenetics, immune responses and immunosuppressive therapy. UCSF transplant researchers have been among the most successful in the nation at attracting competitively awarded NIH grants for their work, including studies of:
• Gradual discontinuation of anti-rejection drugs in pediatric and adult organ transplant recipients, both liver and kidney.
• Donors and recipients involved in adult to adult living donor liver transplantation.
• HIV-positive kidney and liver transplant candidates undergoing treatment with HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy)
• The regenerative properties of liver cells, and the possibility of cell differentiation in response to injury.
• Genetic factors in the origins of drug-induced liver diseases.
• Optimal management and clinical outcomes of acute liver failure
• Novel treatment strategies for recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation.
• Non-invasive immunologic strategies to diagnose kidney and liver transplant rejection.
• Studies in islet transplantation to treat diabetes. UCSF Medical Center is a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and a founding member of the California Transplant Donor Network (CTDN), an independent regional organization supported by transplant centers. The network maintains relationships with more than 150 hospitals in Northern and Central California as well as Northern Nevada to identify potential donors, distribute donor organs and provide education concerning organ donation and transplants.
