Kidney Transplant Procedures: One Way TGH Can Help People with Kidney Disease

Kidney transplant procedures are typically reserved for people with very severe, end-stage renal disease. At this point in the condition’s progression, the kidneys have become so damaged that they can no longer serve their essential function of filtering waste products from the blood. As such, the kidneys’ function must be replaced through regular dialysis. Most patients who are eligible for kidney transplants are currently on dialysis, but are not expected to benefit from dialysis as a long-term solution. At Tampa General Hospital, we perform kidney transplant procedures for both pediatric and adult patients, using kidneys from living or deceased donors. Our transplant candidates are people who have experienced or will soon experience kidney failure due to any one of several underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. They must also be referred to our program by their physician or dialysis center director via our patient referral form. Using the information on that form, as well as other factors, our team will determine whether a transplant is the proper course of action at the time. Our kidney transplant program completed the first of its more than 5,000 kidney transplant procedures in 1974. Years of experience has allowed our team to provide better care for each patient we accept. The overall success of our program is reflected in the data gathered by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), a national database that publishes information about every transplant center in the United States. Here are a few statistics from the latest SRTR data, which were published in July 2015:

• On average, we transplanted 50 percent of the candidates on our waitlist within 24.6 months, compared to the national average of more than 72 months.
• The one- and three-year survival rates among our adult patients were above the national averages. Our pediatric patients’ survival rates were on par with the extremely high national averages.
• We completed 198 total kidney transplant procedures within the last one-year span analyzed by the SRTR. That volume makes us one of the busiest kidney transplant centers in the region.

For more information about Tampa General Hospital’s Kidney Transplant Program and the criteria patients must meet before undergoing kidney transplant procedures, call 1-800-505-7769 (press 5 for the kidney transplant program, and ask for the referral coordinator), or call the referral coordinator directly at (813) 844-8686.