VCU Health Leads Southeast with Single-Port Robotic Surgery for Living Donor Kidney Transplants

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Roughly 92,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant according to the American Kidney Fund. This underscores the urgent need for advances that make transplantation safer and more accessible.

VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center is leading the Southeast by performing living donor kidney transplants using the da Vinci SP^® (single‑port) robotic system, which allows surgeons to operate through a single incision of approximately five centimeters.

The procedure is led by transplant surgeon, Seung Lee, M.D., Ph.D., who performs both living donor nephrectomies and recipient transplantations using this advanced minimally invasive approach.

"The need for kidney transplantation continues to grow, and living donation remains one of the most powerful ways to save lives," said David Bruno, M.D., FACS, Director of Hume‑Lee. "By making surgery less invasive for donors and recipients alike, we're removing barriers to living donation and helping more patients receive lifesaving transplants sooner."

Lee began using the da Vinci SP^® platform for kidney transplant recipients in March 2026 and has since expanded its use to living donor nephrectomies—offering a fully robotic approach on both sides of the transplant process—an advancement performed at only a limited number of centers nationwide.

"Single‑port robotic technology is transforming how we approach transplantation," said Lee. "By reducing surgical trauma while maintaining precision, we can improve recovery, reduce complications, and deliver a better experience for both donors and recipients."

Minimally invasive surgery offers significant advantages in transplantation. Recipients are often managing advanced, chronic illness and benefit from reduced surgical stress, less pain and faster recovery. At the same time, improving the donor experience is critical to encouraging more individuals to consider living donation—an essential solution to the growing organ shortage.

Hume‑Lee Transplant Center is believed to be the first transplant program in Virginia and the Southeast to apply single‑port robotic technology to both living kidney donors and kidney transplant recipients, reinforcing its leadership in surgical innovation and patient‑centered care.

For more information about VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center, visit: vcuhealth.org/transplant.

About VCU and VCU Health

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 28,000 students in more than 200 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities across VCU's 12 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health brand represents the VCU health sciences academic programs, the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Tappahannock Hospital, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and MCV Physicians. The clinical enterprise includes a collaboration with Sheltering Arms Institute for physical rehabilitation services. For more, please visit vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org.

CONTACT: Caroline Ward 
VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center Public Relations 
Phone: 804-628-8578
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE VCU Health