Children’s Performs More Liver and Intestine Transplants Than Any Other Pediatric Center and Has One of the Highest Survival Rates Worldwide
PITTSBURGH " April 17, 2008 " Nationally, nearly 100,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. And approximately 18 of them, including six children, die each day without receiving a transplant. One organ and tissue donor may help more than 50 people.
(Media-Newswire.com) - PITTSBURGH – April 17, 2008 – Nationally, nearly 100,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant. And approximately 18 of them, including six children, die each day without receiving a transplant.
One organ and tissue donor may help more than 50 people.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC’s transplant experts want to raise awareness of the need for organ, tissue and marrow donors during April, which is National Donate Life Month.
“It’s sometimes hard to fully comprehend the impact that Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s transplant surgeons have had over the last 27 years,” said George Mazariegos, MD, director of Pediatric Transplantation at the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at Children’s Hospital. “Hundreds of patients with little hope as infants or toddlers are now young adults. Our program has expanded to offer operations for children who need intestinal transplant or multivisceral transplant procedures previously thought to have been impossible.”
Tracey Gonzalez was one such patient. Tracey was an extremely sick toddler in 1990 when her life was saved by a liver and intestine transplant at Children’s Hospital. She was Children’s — and the nation’s — first successful combined liver and intestine transplant. Today, Tracey is a vibrant 20-year-old who is attending college and even volunteers as a counselor at Children’s Hospital’s Camp Chihopi, an annual summer camp for organ transplant survivors.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC’s Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation has a rich history in the field of pediatric transplantation. From the early years when Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD, pioneered a new field of medicine, to recent progress in immunosuppressive therapies, these advancements have given hope to thousands of children.
Opening the nation’s first comprehensive pediatric transplant center in 1981, Children’s Hospital has continued to be a leader in improving solid organ transplantation. Over the years, Children’s has made great strides in developing and improving surgical techniques. New strategies have offered children improved opportunities for long-term survival and a normal quality of life.
This progressive approach has helped Children’s achieve some of the nation’s highest patient survival rates among pediatric transplant centers. For example, the three-year patient survival rate for liver transplantation at Children’s Hospital is 96 percent; the national average is 88 percent. The three-year patient survival rate for intestine transplantation at Children’s Hospital is 91 percent; the national average is 66 percent. Children’s has performed more than 1,500 pediatric liver and intestine transplants, more than any other pediatric center in the world.
Learn more about the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at Children’s.
Contacts:
Marc Lukasiak, 412-692-7919 or 412-692-5016, Marc.Lukasiak@chp.edu Melanie Finnigan, 412-692-5502 or 412-692-5016, Melanie.Finnigan@chp.edu
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