Live Donor Transplant

Overview

A transplant offers hope, but waiting for an organ can be difficult. Some patients can wait up to a year. This is why live donor transplants are an important and sometimes lifesaving option. With live donation, the patient does not need to wait for an organ to become available. They need to have a family member or friend who is willing and able to donate their organ.

Transplant surgeons at the University of Rochester Medical Center use a minimally invasive procedure to remove a section or whole organs from living donors. Each year, hundreds of people in the Greater Rochester area wait for donor organs. Traditionally, deceased donor organs, those removed from a healthy person after a sudden accident or illness, were the only option for patients needing a transplant. Due to a shortage of deceased donor organs, the number of patients waiting for a transplant in the United States has grown dramatically. Transplant patients are forced to endure longer waiting times and may become quite ill before they receive an organ, and in some instances, are too ill to undergo transplant surgery. Living donor organs lessen the need for deceased donor organs and offer new hope for transplant recipients.

UR Medicine's Approach

At UR Medicine, we offer live donor transplants for the liver and kidney.

We know a kidney transplant is a lifelong commitment for you and for us. We’re with you every step of the way. Preparing for a transplant and living with it will affect your life in many ways. So we get to know you well, and we’ll help you maintain and resume many of your activities and even become involved in new ones.

Our definition of success extends far beyond the operating room. We commit the time and resources to making your life after the transplant itself as successful as possible. It takes a team to perform a transplant. We’ve gathered a team of expert surgeons from all over the world.

Our kidney transplant team includes:

Transplant surgeons who perform your procedure
Nephrologists who take care of your kidneys before and after surgery
Pharmacists who dispense medication, answer questions, and consult with doctors about which medications are best for you
Psychiatrist for your mental and emotional health
Social worker who helps you and your family understand and process your diagnosis
Transplant coordinator who helps guide you through the transplant process and understand it
Dietitians who help ensure you are getting proper nutrition and educate you on the type of diet you may need to follow before and after your transplant
Transplant ID physicians who prevent and treat infectious complications in pre- and post-transplant patients
Patients themselves, who are important members of their care team. You will be kept up-to-date about your treatment and be involved in the decision-making

Video: Transplant and biopsychosocial model.

What Sets Us Apart?

We are the only live donor liver transplant program in upstate New York.

The University of Rochester founded the biopsychosocial model, which treats the whole patient rather than just disease. We consider all your life circumstances, personalizing your treatment based on what’s best for you. This includes providing a transplant psychiatrist and social worker who look after your mental and emotional health.

You can see the excellent outcomes of our transplantation program by visiting the following websites:

We aim to make this as simple and stress-free as possible for patients and their families. For patients traveling from out of town, we have partnerships with local organizations that provide your family with affordable places to stay, such as the Hope Lodge and Harbor House.