San Antonio Live Donor Kidney Transplant Program Ranked #1 In The Country

SAN ANTONIO, March 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Transplant Institute at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital ranks first in the nation for the number of live donor kidney transplants performed in 2016. According to data from the national United Network for Organ Sharing, the program performed 202 live donor kidney transplants in 2016. With this milestone, the San Antonio program became the first ever to perform more than 200 live donor kidney transplants in one year. The private community hospital's transplant teams also set program records for deceased donor kidney transplants (158) and for liver transplants (64).

"Every transplant impacts multiple human beings. It gives the recipients and their families a new lease on life," said Adam Bingaman, M.D., kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon and the director of Abdominal Organ Transplantation, Live Donor Kidney Transplant, and Renal Transplant Research Programs. "And it gives the donors a new perspective: they've just saved someone's life."

When kidneys lose the ability to effectively process waste from the blood, an individual has reached End Stage Kidney Failure and must go on dialysis or get a transplant. According to recent data from UNOS, more than 98,000 people in the US are waiting for a kidney. The demand for kidneys for transplantation far exceeds the number available from deceased donors. Of the 19,060 kidney transplants performed in this country last year, 13,431 came from deceased donors. In Texas, the numbers are further impacted by a large Hispanic population with a predisposition to diabetes, the leading cause of chronic kidney disease.

The kidney transplant program at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital began in 1984 and expanded with the opening of Texas Transplant Institute in 1999. In 2007, it took another step forward when Dr. Bingaman joined the team. In addition to being a transplant surgeon, he has a PhD in Immunology.  This dual expertise has heightened the program's goal of shortening the time patients spend on the transplant waiting list by focusing on matching more victims with live donors. This has been accomplished through:

• Aggressive evaluation, by a multi-disciplinary team, of a database of potential donors and recipients to find the best possible matches.
• Facilitation of Paired Kidney Exchanges: when donors and recipients who are incompatible agree to 'exchange' with another donor/recipient pair who also are not matches.
• Outreach to people in underserved markets in Texas with the establishment of six satellite clinics.
• Education to expand awareness about live donor transplants and to help individuals become their own advocates in finding kidneys from a living donor.
• A focus on the donor as well as the recipient, with transplants performed at the same facility and follow-up care for the donor for two years post-surgery.

"There have been tremendous advancements in live donor kidney transplants. We want to help people learn about, then share, this information," said Dr. Bingaman.  "Our goal is to save more lives."

If you need a kidney through a living donor, or if you are an individual who is willing to donate a kidney, please visit sahealth.com/kidneylivedonor or call 1-844-746-3338 to learn more.

About Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital
Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, is a full-service hospital specializing in abdominal organ transplants (kidney, liver, pancreas), bariatric surgery, vascular and robotic surgery, psychiatry, inpatient rehabilitation, treatments for cancer and incontinence, and forensic and emergency care for survivors of sexual assault ages 13 and older. Its Level IV Trauma Emergency Department is open 24/7/365. It was rated 'A' in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assessment of 2,600 hospitals nationwide and is designated as a Center of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital is a campus of Methodist Hospital.

Media Contact:
Shirley Wills, 210-822-2378, [email protected]

SOURCE Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital