Ten patients received new kidneys and a new lease on life last week in one of the busiest weeks ever for the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson Transplant Program, according to a report to be posted to Banner Health’s intranet.
Transplant surgeons Robert C. Harland, MD, Tun Jie, MD, and our newest transplant surgeon, Alexandra P. Turner, MD, performed seven transplants with kidneys from deceased donors and three transplants with kidneys from living donors between June 17-23. All patients are doing well.
“The operating room, nursing units, Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Lab and key ancillary areas made it happen and they did it without missing a beat,” said Deborah Maurer, administrator for Banner Health’s transplantation programs in Tucson and Phoenix.
She offered special thanks and congratulations to Dr. Harland, who is surgical director of the hospital’s abdominal transplant program, kidney transplant medical director and assistant professor in the UA Division of Nephrology Lavanya Kodali, MD, and Darryl Lundeen, RN, solid organ transplant director in Tucson.
Dr. Kodali credited the accomplishment to “an excellent orchestration of multi-disciplinary team effort.”
She added, “These are intense times for everyone involved—both patients and health-care providers. But they are also the most gratifying to all. Congratulations to everyone for making this happen!”
Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Nephrology and director of the Arizona Kidney and Vascular Research Program, mirrored Dr. Kodali’s comments.
“This is what team work is all about: changing people’s lives,” he said. “Congratulations to the many different teams and people that allowed this to happen.”
Dr. Roy-Chaudhury also is co-chair of the Kidney Health Initiative, a public-private partnership between the American Society of Nephrology and U.S. Food and Drug Administration working to bring more advanced therapies and medical solutions to market more quickly that will improve the lives of end-stage renal disease patients whose only lifeline—other than a kidney transplant—is hemodialysis while waiting for an organ donor match.
EXTRA INFO: Transplant Stats
In 2016 and 2017, physicians at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson performed more than 230 kidney transplant procedures combined.
For details on organ transplant statistics nationwide, visit the website of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) at: https://unos.org/data/
You also can visit the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network with the Health Resources & Services Administration, a unit of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/
For related Banner – University Medical Center Tucson transplant data go to the OPTN-HRSA site above, click on “Center Data” | on the U.S. map, click on Arizona | then, select “AZUA-TX1 Banner University Medical Center” in the “Choose Center” box, “Transplant” in the “Choose Category” box and “Kidney” or “Kidney / Pancreas” in the “Choose Organ” box. A short list of reports will appear. Select “Transplant by Donor Type.” You should see 30 years of annual numbers for kidney transplants performed at the hospital.
ALSO SEE:
“Reducing the Risk of Transplant Rejection Focus of Nephrology Guest Speaker, April 20” | Posted April 17, 2018
“UA, Banner – UMC Celebrate Record-Breaking Year for Kidney Transplants in Tucson” | Posted Dec. 3, 2016