The pediatric kidney transplant program at Children’s Memorial was the first in the Midwest to perform a kidney transplant in a pediatric patient. It is now the largest program of its kind in Illinois.
The team has performed 560 kidney transplants through June 2010, ranking the program among the nation’s leaders for volume. Our post-transplant patient and graft survival rates rank amongst the world’s best, and we have a successful track record of performing kidney transplants in patients that have had other organ transplants.
We offer deceased and living donor (laparoscopic and open) organ donations. Our multidisciplinary approach to care combines center experts with dedicated pediatric surgeons, pediatric urologists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and nutritionists to diagnose and treat complicated medical and structural problems requiring kidney transplantation.
Watch this animation for general information about kidney transplants.
Some highlights of our program include:
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According to UNOS data, we have performed the 8th highest number of transplants since 1988.
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We have performed more than 170 living donor kidney transplants.
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The program has exemplary survival rates with 100% of patients alive and 97% of organs transplanted functioning after one year post transplant (as reported by the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients).
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30% of the kidney transplants performed by our team are preemptive and done before the patient is placed on dialysis, which benefits the patient by helping them avoid potential complications from dialysis.
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Our program is the first in the Midwest to develop a prednisone-free protocol that reduces the patient’s exposure to corticosteroids. Over time, this helps improve the child’s growth and development and reduces the risk of side effects that come with long-term steroid use, including osteoporosis. We have seen a high success rate with this protocol.