Chicago Transplant Center |Downtown, Hyde Park & South West Suburbs

Dr. John Fung and Dr. Michael Charlton, leaders of the Transplant Institute

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Leaders in Transplant Medicine

UChicago Medicine's organ transplant team supports patients throughout the entire transplant process. Through revolutionary approaches, our doctors and surgeons strive to transplant patients quickly and ensure exceptional outcomes.

Types of Transplantation

Transplant Surgery at UChicago Medicine

Our transplantation surgeons are among the best in the world. They have conducted thousands of procedures, earning national and international recognition for their expertise and research.

Personalized Transplant Care at Every Step

During the months leading up to transplant surgery, each patient is assigned to a pre-transplant coordinator — a registered nurse with a special expertise in transplant care. Your pre-transplant coordinator will arrange all of your tests and consultations. Your coordinator is your personal advocate and is always there to address any questions or concerns.

We follow patients very carefully after transplant. All patients visit our Post-Transplant Clinic for regular check ups. In between visits, patients can always reach one of our post-transplant nurses by phone or page any time of the day or night.

World-Renowned Transplant Specialists

Before and after your transplant, you have access to hundreds of knowledgeable experts at the University of Chicago Medicine. Once you or your loved one becomes a transplant patient here, you enter a world-class medical center that can take care of all your medical needs. UChicago Medicine is home to some of the world’s most respected specialists in diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, heart disease, digestive disorders, transplant and more.

A History of Excellence

Organ transplantation began here. In 1904, a University of Chicago doctor performed the first animal organ transplant, which later earned him the Nobel prize. We continue to strive to be a world leader in organ transplantation.

Several transplant firsts occurred here. We were the first in the world to perform a successful living-donor liver transplant and heart-liver-kidney transplant. We were the first in the United States to perform segmental (reduced size) and split-liver transplants. We were the first hospital in Illinois to perform a pancreas transplant, and our center continues to pioneer pancreas transplantation as a promising treatment for type 1 diabetes. Our physician-scientists are working to continue to improve transplant care through promising research.

Rich Matula, kidney transplant patient, with his friend and kidney donor

Living Donor Transplantation

Brenda Garrett, MSN, MHA, shows pictures of her recovery to an unidentified patient, inside Mitchell Hospital on the UChicago campus

Transplant Care

Dr. Maria Lucia Madariaga, thoracic surgeon

Transplant Teams

Chicagoland Transplant Care Locations

Patient Stories

‘Too many more years to live’: Tinley Park woman becomes living donor for husband needing kidney transplant

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Leaders in Complex Transplants

With one of the nation’s leading organ transplant programs, UChicago Medicine has performed more heart-liver-kidney transplants than any other institution. We continue to build upon our success and history of innovation to bring the best possible outcomes to our patients, including (left to right) Neil Perry, Daru Smith, Sarah McPharlin and Apurva Patel who all received triple-organ transplants within a year’s time.

Learn more about how UChicago Medicine is at the forefront of multi-organ transplantation

Help When Traveling from Outside the Chicago Area for Medical Care

For Logan Andrews and his family, traveling from North Carolina to Chicago for Logan's heart and liver transplant care required special assistance beyond medical expertise. The family turned to the Destination UChicago Medicine team to help scheduling appointments, arranging travel and finding accommodations.

Video Transcript

Well, I'm 22 years old, and I like to hang out with my family and friends. I play a lot of video games. When I do get active, I like to go outside and throw the ball with my dog.

Logan Andrews is a typical young man. You wouldn't know by looking at him that he recently had a heart and liver transplant.

I was born with a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart. And so the left pulmonary artery is not equal to the right. I had a very different experience from the kids I grew up with. I was very limited to sports. I didn't exactly go out and be the all-star football player. I was very to myself most of the time. I did play baseball for a couple of years, which was fun.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a serious condition that damaged Logan's liver. He needed a new heart and a new liver. But the family lives in North Carolina, a long way from UChicago Medicine and its top notch transplant team. That's where the Destination UChicago Medicine team proved to be such a tremendous asset.

Destination UChicago Medicine is a program that was implemented to help our out-of-state patients and those who travel from a far distance. It also is a place where people who have longer stays can come in and gather resources. Primarily, we assist with scheduling appointments, navigation throughout the medical center, hotel and transportation options, and then any pre- and post-follow-up questions that may arise.

The team really goes over and beyond for our patients. I mean, some of them can be just as close as Kankakee, or they could be as far as New Mexico. And the team is just phenomenal how they go over and beyond for every single one of our patients just to give that high-touch service.

Destination UChicago Medicine has been working with Logan's family for years. He had multiple hospitalizations and surgeries. So when the family got the great news they were finally on the transplant list, they called Kimberly.

She called the office, and she stated, I just have to share this with you because I feel like you've been a part of this process with my family. And we both cried. I was so overjoyed. I can hear the joy in her voice, and it was like, wow, this has finally happened after many years. This has been a journey for them.

Patients are usually referred by physicians or care teams. Destination UChicago Medicine works with hotels and organizations that help with long-term housing for patients' families. They also have navigators who help patients work their way through a very complex system.

Very important, and actually it helps out a lot. I know that living in big cities like this is not always manageably affordable sometimes. So this program's really helped us out a bunch. And we really thank you all for that.

Logan had his transplant last October and is doing well. He wants to study marketing and live a full life.

Have my own family one day. And just live life and enjoy it, and do things that I couldn't do before surgery.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

A History of Breakthroughs

UChicago Medicine physicians and scientists discovered breakthroughs that shaped modern medicine and advanced the forefront of science and clinical care.

We are proud to continue advancing the forefront of health every day by bringing research to reality.