Specialties
We are the only transplant program in the world offering robotic kidney transplantation to obese/overweight patients who are frequently refused transplantation in other centers.
Why University of Illinois Hospital Transplant Center?
Having pioneered many of the procedures and techniques used by other transplant surgeons worldwide, we offer innovative options to patients. These include:
- Excellent outcomes in kidney transplantation with the lowest technical complication rates
- A history of groundbreaking innovations in kidney transplantation
- The only program in the world to offer robotic kidney transplantation to obese patients who are refused access to kidney transplantation by other centers
- University of Illinois Hospital can perform living donor kidney transplant even if your donor has a different blood type or one which is not compatible with you
- We consider overweight living donors for kidney transplant
- We have one of the highest rates of success in finding a suitable living donor (70% of all kidney transplants at University of Illinois Hospital come from a living donor)
- We provide access to the most modern and patient-friendly medications
- We are culturally sensitive to all ethnicities, races, and religions and honor the diversity of our patients
History/UI Health Firsts
At the University of Illinois Hospital Transplant Center, our doctors and researchers pioneered some of the first major organ transplants in Illinois and the world. Olga Jonasson, MD, performed the first kidney transplant in Illinois in 1968. Since then many innovations have been introduced in the field of kidney transplantation by our team.
1968—First kidney transplant in Illinois
1997—First living donor kidney-pancreas transplant in Illinois
2000—First robotic donor nephrectomy for living donor kidney transplant in the world
2000—First heart-kidney transplant at the University of Illinois Hospital
2002—First dedicated transplant intensive care unit (ICU) in the Midwest
2006—First paired donation in Illinois for ABO (blood types) incompatible kidney transplant
2008—First fully robotic kidney transplant in obese recipient in the world
Liver Transplantation
- Cirrhosis due to Hepatitis B and C, autoimmune hepatitis, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH)
- Alcoholic Cirrhosis
- Cholestatic Liver Disease such as primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) or primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)
- Metabolic liver disease
- Acute Liver Failure due to drug toxicity or virus
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Cholangiocarcinoma
History/UI Health Firsts
- First adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant in Midwest (1998)
- First coronary artery bypass and liver transplant in the same setting (1998)
- First liver and small bowel transplants from same living donor into same recipient worldwide (2004)
- First robotic hepatectomy in the U.S. (2005)
- One of two programs worldwide offering living donors for all abdominal organs: kidney, liver, pancreas, intestine, combined liver/bowel, combined kidney/pancreas
Liver Transplantation
According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network over 17,000 individuals were on the waiting list throughout the nation. The waiting list for liver transplants is continually changing as the most severe patients are always being placed at the top of the list. While the average wait time with the UIH Transplant Program for seriously ill patients is fairly short, patients with less severe liver disease may have a significant wait time, as the most seriously ill patients have priority due to a shortage of deceased donor organs responsible for the delayed treatment of chronically ill patients. Our surgeons perform living donor liver transplants in adults. This represents a unique opportunity to provide our patients with organs in a timely fashion. This highly demanding surgical procedure has been performed by only a small number of experts in the world. Our team of experts brought their expertise from Asia, Europe and the US. Furthermore, our surgeons provide experienced service in liver resection for benign and malignant tumors.
Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant (ALDLT) is a relatively new surgical procedure that started in the mid-90s. This procedure was implemented to cope with the severe shortage of donor livers from deceased donors. After the creation of this new surgical procedure, it is estimated that about 7,000 such procedures have been performed worldwide.
Living donor liver transplantation from an adult-to-child previously had dramatically reduced the mortality of children waiting for liver transplantation. Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation is derived from adult-to-child living donor liver transplantation which became widely successful in the early 90s. The major difference between these two is the amount of liver tissue that must be removed and then transplanted.
Frequently asked questions about liver transplantation and selecting a liver transplant program.
Our team of experts has performed ground-breaking firsts, including:
Pancreas Transplant Program
UI Hospital is among the very few transplant centers offering living donor pancreas transplantation. We are the only transplant program in the world to offer robotic living donor kidney pancreas transplantation.
UI Hospital is leading clinical trials in islet transplantation that offers a functional cure for Type I Diabetes. For more information and participation in clinical trials, please visit Chicago Diabetes Project.
Why UI Health?
- Excellent outcomes in pancreas and islet transplantation with the lowest technical complication rates
- History of groundbreaking innovations in pancreas and islet transplantation (link to list)
- The only program in the world to offer robotic donor pancreatectomy and nephrectomy in living donor
- We consider pancreas transplantation in overweight Type I diabetic patients who are often refused by other centers
- Access to the most modern and patient-friendly medications
- Culturally sensitive to all ethnicities, races, and religions
History/UI Health Firsts (include picture of tower/charter medallion)
At the University of Illinois Hospital Transplant Center, our doctors and researchers pioneered some of the first major organ transplants in Illinois and the world. Olga Jonasson, MD, performed the first kidney transplant in Illinois in 1968. Since then many innovations have been introduced by our team in the field of kidney transplantation.
- 1988—First pancreas transplant at University of Illinois Hospital
- 1997—First living donor kidney-pancreas transplant in Illinois
- 2002—First robotic donor pancreatectomy and nephrectomy in the world
- 2002—First dedicated Transplant ICU in the Midwest
Outcomes
You can find transplant outcomes of any program in the country at the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).
- Our overall patient survival after pancreas alone transplantation at 1 year is 100% and at 3 years is 91%.
- Our overall pancreas alone graft survival at 1 year is 86.7% and 81.8% at 3 years, higher than the rates for the US, with 66% at 3 years.
- Our overall kidney pancreas patient survival is 100% at 1 year and 100% at 3 years, higher than US rate at 92% at 3 years.
- Our overall kidney pancreas graft survival is 100% at 1 year and 100% at 3 years, better than the US rate at 76% at 3 years.