LVHN's program is one of largest in adult kidney and pancreas transplants in region
Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence's transplant program has grown to become one of the largest and most experienced adult transplant programs in the state and region (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware). LVHN’s kidney transplant program is more than 30 years old; the Pancreas Transplant program is nearly 20 years old.
The first kidney transplant in the program was completed on July 12, 1991, and the program continues to grow. In December 2022, LVHN’s transplant program surpassed 1,800 transplants. The LVHN transplant program is one of the largest transplant centers in the state and the only transplant center in the Lehigh Valley. Our comprehensive and multidisciplinary team is exceptionally experienced, and our surgeons are skilled and highly qualified transplant surgeons.
There are several factors involved based on our years of experience and expertise with successful transplants. We will accept deceased donors that other centers may not. We also accept more difficult transplant cases, multiple transplants or challenging anatomy, for example, that less-experienced centers can’t chance. Our surgical team is committed to transplanting as many patients as we can.
We have a dedicated living donor coordinator who works with potential donors who are willing to help someone they don’t even know. Their amazing humanity allows us to take multiple patients off our list every year. We have had several anonymous kidney donations, the last one – in December 2022 – resulting in a three-way paired kidney donation. We encourage any donor who is not a match for their intended recipient to be enrolled in the kidney exchange program which matches donors with appropriate recipients. If you want to be a donor but are not a match for the person you wish to donate to, we will find you a match for your kidney and in exchange we find a donor who matches your intended recipient.
Pancreas transplant is exclusively for people with type 1 diabetes who have significant kidney disease. Usually, it involves a simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant from the same deceased donor. Sometimes a patient will have a kidney transplant first, often from a living donor, followed by a pancreas transplant that can occur months or even years later. The goal is to eliminate the kidney disease or failure while providing an internal source of self-regulating insulin, which also eliminates the diabetes. There aren’t many centers of any size doing these transplants because these are very difficult cases, but because of our years of experience and expertise we can help these patients.
You can live a normal life – work, play, travel, do all the things you enjoy – without being tied to a kidney dialysis machine. As with any surgery, there is potential for some risk, however, generally speaking, you will live longer and have a better quality of life than you would without the transplant. The patients who do well are those who are ready, willing and able to live a lifestyle that involves taking pills twice a day 12 hours apart and getting regular blood tests monthly the first two years, less often after that. That’s all you will need to do for a better and potentially longer life. It is covered by Medicare or any insurance you may have. If you have severe kidney disease, the sooner you get a transplant the better your life is going to be. A living donor is often the best option for most patients.
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a living kidney donor, please fill out the form at the link below:
