When your child needs transplant surgery, you want the area’s best care team treating them. We are proud to provide:

• Excellent outcomes: AU Health has a 100% success rate for kidney transplants, defined by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients as having a patient's transplanted kidney survive and function at both the one-year and the three-year mark. This success rate has given our patients a new lease on life!
• Dedicated transplant teams: Your child's care team consists of pediatric nephrologists, urologists, and surgeons who have treated scores of children, working tirelessly with the goal of getting your child back to their normal lives as quickly as possible.
• Kidney transplant expertise: When your child is ready for their surgery, they will have highly qualified kidney transplant surgeons and pediatric anesthesiologists who will collaborate seamlessly with your child's nephrology team.
• Child-friendly spaces: We know hospitals can be scary for kids. Our rooms are designed with children in mind because we want them to feel at ease when they come to us.
• Medical interpreters: We are fortunate to have a Spanish-speaking nephrologist available in our department who can help our Spanish-speaking patients understand their child’s medical care. We can also arrange interpreters for other non-English speaking patients and families.

Kidney surgery has come a long way, it is now safer and more effective than ever. Our Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program cares for patients from newborn to young adult and will follow them into adulthood to provide lifelong kidney support.

• Living Kidney Donor Program: Patients who have a living donor do not need to wait as long for a transplant - surgeries can be scheduled as soon as their work-up is complete. Kidneys from living donors also last longer and have better outcomes.
• Preemptive transplants: When possible, we can perform surgery early, which can help a patient avoid going on dialysis altogether.
• Minimally invasive surgery (MIS): We perform many of our kidney procedures using MIS. Urologist perform MIS to remove a kidney from a living-related donor, making the donation process more convenient and recovery quicker.

CHOG's kidney transplant program has been around for a long time. Our years of experience allows us to provide the wide-range of care it takes to treat children with end-stage renal disease.

What to expect

• Pre-op evaluation: Our nephrology team conducts a thorough pre-op evaluation of each transplant candidate. We get input from families so we can design a kidney transplant care plan that is best for their child.
• After-transplant monitoring: After your child's surgery is complete, they will go to the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) for post-operative monitoring. The PICU is staffed by pediatric intensivists who watch over your child during their recovery.
• Nursing staff: Nurses stay in close contact with families and function as case managers handling every aspect of care, including
  • Setting up referrals to other specialists
  • Helping with insurance
  • Organizing transportation
  • Making overnight/short-term stay arrangements for surgery patients and families at the Ronald McDonald House.
• Child life specialists: Available to help children understand and cope with their illness and explain their surgical care.
• Social workers: For families with other life challenges who may be in need of help.