Transplant Surgery

Transplant Surgery

Our organ transplant program is one of the most active in the U.S., specializing in high-risk transplants.

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Why choose UCSF Health for organ transplant?

The UCSF Health organ transplant program, founded in the 1960s, has grown into one of the largest transplant programs in the world. Our surgeons have performed over 20,000 solid organ transplants, making us only the third program in the U.S. to reach this milestone.

UCSF Health specializes in complex procedures and high-risk cases, and our outcomes consistently exceed national averages. We often accept patients for possible transplant who have been turned down by other hospitals.

Our living organ donation program is one of the most active in the country, shortening wait times and giving hope to organ transplant patients. Ongoing clinical trials at UCSF Health help advance transplant medicine and improve outcomes.

We understand the challenges of organ transplant because we've guided thousands of people through this journey. Collaborative transplant teams provide exceptional care and emotional support while you await transplant, during your recovery and in the years after. Our support groups welcome organ recipients and caregivers before and after transplant.

  • Exceptional outcomes

    Our survival rates are some of the highest nationwide, and we treat many high-risk patients who were denied transplants at other hospitals.

  • Multiple organ transplant expertise

    We're one of the most experienced hospitals in the U.S. for multiple organ procedures, such as kidney-pancreas, liver-kidney, heart-liver and heart-lung transplants.

  • Total pancreatectomy – islet auto-transplantation

    We're one of the only programs west of the Mississippi performing TP-IAT, an innovative procedure using the patient's insulin-producing cells.

  • Supportive team approach

    Surgeons, hepatologists, nephrologists, transplant nurse coordinators, social workers, nutritionists, psychologists, pharmacists and physical therapists support your transplant journey.

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A national and global leader in organ transplant

Each transplant care team at UCSF Health is committed to providing comprehensive care before, during and after an organ transplant. Our transplant teams have decades of experience performing:

  • Heart transplants. We have one of the most active heart transplant programs in the U.S. Our surgeons specialize in procedures that make more donor hearts available.

  • Kidney transplants. We're one of the largest kidney transplant programs in the West, performing hundreds of transplants each year. Minimally invasive procedures are available for living donors.

  • Liver transplants. We've performed more than 5,000 liver transplants, with survival rates that exceed the national average. Using exchange transplants, we offer solutions when a living donor does not match their intended recipient.

  • Lung transplants. With over 100 lung transplants each year, we're one of the top lung transplant programs in the nation. We've made innovations to expand eligibility, enabling more people to receive new lungs.

  • Pancreas transplants. Our pancreas transplant program has excellent success rates for pancreas and kidney-pancreas transplants.

  • Total pancreatectomy – islet auto-transplantation (TP-IAT). We're one of the only programs in the western U.S. offering TP-IAT for people with chronic pancreatitis and type 1 diabetes.

Experts in complex procedures

UCSF Health is a nationwide leader in multi-organ transplant procedures, such as:

  • Double lung

  • Heart-kidney

  • Heart-liver

  • Heart-lung

  • Lung-liver

  • Liver-kidney

  • Pancreas-kidney

Pioneers in transplant medicine

Our researchers investigate ways to make transplants safer and available to more people. We're developing techniques to support your health while you wait for an organ, improve transplant safety and reduce complications after transplant.

We are leading efforts to:

  • Expand the hepatitis C-positive donor program to increase the number of organs available and reduce wait times

  • Increase donation after circulatory death (DCD), expanding the number of viable donor organs available

  • Improve techniques to preserve donor organs, enabling more organs to be viable

  • Investigate approaches to reduce the need for immunosuppressant medications after transplants

  • Pioneer safe transplantation for people living with HIV

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    Nationally recognized organ transplant excellence

    Our active transplant programs have some of the best outcomes nationwide.

    • 380+

      Kidney transplants performed each year

    • #1

      in the U.S. for patient survival rates three years after lung transplant

    • Among the top hospitals in the nation

    • "Elite" rating (highest) among designated programs of excellence

    • "Elite" rating (highest) among designated programs of excellence

    • "Elite" rating (highest) among designated programs of excellence

    Related conditions & treatments

    Organ transplants for kids

    Our pediatric transplant programs offer heart, kidney, liver and bone marrow transplants for children.
    UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals