5,000th Organ Donation in Iowa, State's Only Multi-Organ Transplant Program Since 1969

The 5,000th solid organ transplant was performed in the organ transplant center, University of Iowa (UI). The UI Organ Transplant Center performed its first transplant, a kidney, in 1969. It was the state’s first transplant program and remains to be the only multi-organ, comprehensive transplant program serving both adult and pediatric patients in Iowa. Professor Alan Reed, Surgery and Director of the UI Organ Transplant Center said, “We are both humbled and honored to be part of this historic milestone for Iowa’s transplant program and patients. The advancements we’re making today in transplant care are founded on the pioneering efforts, both at Iowa and elsewhere.”

Ken Kates, Associate Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer of UI Hospitals and Clinics, announced that UI Hospitals and Clinics have launched its “Year of Celebrating Transplantation" as part of recognizing this milestone of 5,000 transplants.

The importance of organ donation, the transformed lives of transplant recipients, and the pioneering work of the UI’s transplant researchers and caregivers past and present will be emphasized on the series of events planned for the coming months. A strong research program on transplant matters has been the boon for the UI organ transplant program ever since the inception.

Debra Schwinn, Dean of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine said, “Iowa has been the home of research advances in the understanding of organ failure and the body’s systems for protecting itself from infection. Our success as a transplant center can be attributed to the discoveries of our research teams, advancing techniques that in many cases have been adopted as best practices in the transplant field.”

Source-Medindia