About Us

Nearly 2,500 kidney transplants have been performed to date, making MedStar Washington Hospital Center the most experienced kidney transplant program in the Washington metropolitan area. We have also been on the forefront of advances in transplantation, including:

• Innovative cadaver and living donor programs
• Supportive organ preservation laboratory
• Participation in numerous clinical trials of new anti-rejection medications

These activities have resulted in improved outcomes of kidney transplantation.

Increased Survival Rates and Innovations

Our survival rates have always been among the best in the nation, and significantly better than predicted standards. We have been innovators in encouraging living donation, by simplifying the kidney removal through laparoscopic techniques and pioneering donation from unrelated individuals.

History

The Hospital Center kidney transplant program was founded in 1974. In 1989, we began the Simultaneous Kidney-Pancreas (SPK), for patients with end stage renal disease resulting from insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Leading the Field in Transplantation

The Hospital Center has also led the area in transplant education, training and research. Hundreds of residents and fellows have received training in transplantation at the Hospital Center, and more than 100 articles, written by our staff on various aspects of transplantation, have been published in research medical literature.

Experience

Since 1974, MedStar Washington Hospital Center has been the area’s leading kidney transplant center. Our surgeons were among the first in the city to perform kidney transplants, and today perform more than 100 transplants each year.

Our program has earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s top 50 transplant programs. Our team works closely with other centers of excellence in the hospital to manage patients with complex medical conditions. This enables us to offer transplantation as an option to more patients.

Excellence in Patient Care

The Hospital Center’s kidney transplant team has set the pace for transplant excellence. A continuum of care begins before transplantation and extends through a lifetime, including a detailed recovery plan that charts each step of the patient’s progress during the hospital stay to ensure a successful transplant.

Living Donor Focus

We are national leaders in raising awareness of the importance of living donation. The Hospital Center surgeons were among the first in the area to perform donor kidney removal by minimally invasive techniques. Today, virtually all of our living donors benefit from this laparoscopic procedure, which vastly improves the experience of donating a kidney. We were the first hospital in the area to perform living unrelated donor transplants, and we routinely coordinate kidney exchanges among living donors, when friends or relatives are not a suitable organ match.