Organ Transplants

The Organ Transplant Service at UCSF Medical Center is one of the largest and most highly regarded in the world. Since its founding in the 1960s, it has grown to include:

• Heart
• Intestinal
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lung
• Pancreas

With advances in surgical technique and improved drug regimens to prevent organ rejection and infection, organ replacement for adults and children now is recognized as the best treatment for a variety of diseases.

One of the continuing challenges remains the limited supply of donor organs. Our pioneering work in living donor liver transplants has helped make more donor organs available. In 2001, organ donations from the living — primarily kidneys and portions of livers — surpassed donations from those who have died across the country.

We also have a Immunogenetics and Transplantation Laboratory to test for organ compatibility. This facility is one of the largest such laboratories in the United States.

UCSF Medical Center is a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and a founding member of the California Transplant Donor Network (CTDN), an independent regional organization supported by transplant centers. The network maintains relationships with more than 150 hospitals in Northern and Central California as well as Northern Nevada to identify potential donors, distribute donor organs and provide education concerning organ donation and transplants.

Print a kidney transplant Wait Time Transfer Form from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Support Groups — Organ Transplant support groups for patients and their families are open to the public.

Watch our videos — UCTV Video, Real Player
UCSF Organ Transplant Series

Donate Online

Help support the pioneering patient care at UCSF Medical Center with a donation to our transplant services.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated November 2, 2009