Why Choose Us?

Organ transplant services at UI Hospitals and Clinics are an outstanding choice, not only for the highly successful outcomes but for the relatively short waiting period and the life-long personalized followup care.

UI Hospitals and Clinics Transplant Services covers the broad spectrum of transplant operations and brings together teams of dedicated professionals whose success rate is well above national standards. Our organ transplant specialists perform heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas procedures.

Solid Organ Transplants

  • Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services: Seven of our transplant programs meet the federal agency's Conditions for Participation: adult kidney, pediatric kidney, adult liver, adult heart, pediatric heart, adult pancreas and adult lung.
  • The Iowa Business Council awarded the UI Organ Transplant Center an Iowa Partner in Efficiency Award in 2011 for its exceptional quality and service.
  • Optum Health Care Solutions: This health and wellness company awarded the pediatric heart transplant program its Transplant Access Program designation. In addition it named the adult kidney transplant and adult liver transplant services as Transplant Access Programs.
  • We were the first hospital in Iowa to perform a successful adult heart transplant operation.
  • We were the first hospital in Iowa to perform a living-related liver transplant.
  • An 8-pound Iowa infant becomes one of world's smallest persons to receive a liver transplant in a procedure performed at UI Children's Hospital.

2009 Transplant Survival Rates (after one year)

  • Adult Heart: 100%
  • Adult Kidney Graft: 96%
  • Adult Liver: 95%
  • Adult Lung: 100%
  • Pediatric Heart: 100%
  • Pediatric Kidney Graft: 100%
  • Both our pediatric and adult heart transplant programs have 100 percent survival rates for the first year.
  • Our adult lung one-year survival rate is 100 percent as well.
  • Our adult kidney one-year survival rate is 96.3 percent, three points higher than the national average and our pediatric kidney one-year survival rate is 100 percent.
  • Our adult liver one-year survival rate is 95.3 percent, seven points higher than the national average.

Number of Transplant Procedures Annually

In a typical year we perform more than 100 organ transplants for heart, lung, kidney, liver and pancreas. In 2009, for example, we performed:

  • 12 heart transplants
  • 17 lung transplants
  • 56 kidney transplants
  • 34 liver transplants

Physicians from Transplant Services listed among America's Best Doctors