University of Virginia Health System

Kidney Transplantation

Established in 1967, the kidney transplant program at the University of Virginia is one of the busiest programs of its kind in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The program has completed more than 1500 kidney transplants. Many of these patients have been high-risk candidates and the UVa transplant team has used its extensive transplant expertise to ensure positive outcomes.

Living Donation and the Challenge of Organ Supply

Kidney transplantation is recognized as a life-saving treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, however a persistent national organ shortage has resulted in prolonged waiting times across the country. As a result, the UVa transplant team explores the option of living kidney donation with each patient during the early phases of the evaluation process. Not only does living donation decrease waiting times, but long-term studies have shown that these organs function earlier and have better function than deceased donor organs.

In addition, we have initiated several innovative protocols to allow more living donor transplants even when the donor and recipient pair are blood type incompatibleBlood Type Incompatability: Recipients are at risk for an immune reaction in the body if the donor and recipient blood types are different. or the recipient is predisposed to rejection (i.e., shows a positive crossmatchPositive Crossmatch: A crossmatch test involves mixing the recipient’s blood with the donor’s blood. If the recipient’s antibodies react against the donor’s cells this is called a positive crossmatch, which means the recipient is disposed to rejecting the kidney immediately following transplant.). These protocols and options are discussed, as appropriate, with all patients.

Our Commitment is to our Patients

As with all UVa transplants, the program's primary goal with kidney transplantation is to improve the quality of life of each patient by maintaining long-term graft function. Many UVa patients have the ability to participate in clinical and pharmacologic research. Our transplant program patients have been an integral part of a number of drug studies, including those exploring new immunosuppressive agents, as well those aimed at reducing the complications of chronic immunosuppression.

A Key to Success: Coordination with your own Doctor

A multidisciplinary approach is essential to ensuring patient satisfaction and promoting long-term kidney graft survival; one of the many reasons why the referring physician is considered to be an integral member of the transplant team. All transplant program patients are expected to follow up with their primary care physician after discharge from their transplant admission and at regular intervals thereafter. We are committed to maintaining close collaboration with both the patient and referring physician as a critical factor for success of care delivery to our transplant patients.