After a reaching a record 103 kidneys transplanted in 2012, The University of Mississippi Medical Center plans to expand its organ transplant programs to meet the growing needs of Mississippi residents.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson set a statewide record by performing 103 kidney transplants in 2012.
UMMC is currently the only organ transplant center in the state of Mississippi. The growth of the UMMC organ transplant programs will allow residents to receive care closer to home, according to UMMC Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. James Keeton. He said he wants to achieve an average of 150 transplants per year within five years.
UMMC is also restarting its liver transplant program and is working toward certification as a center for pancreatic transplant care. Keeton attributed the center’s success to the faculty and staff as well as the support of the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA).
“This record stands as a benchmark as we work toward becoming a complete abdominal organ transplant center,” Keeton said.
Dr. Christopher Anderson, associate professor of surgery and division chief of transplant and hepatobiliary surgery, was the first recruit for the new transplant programs.
Anderson said that there are approximately 175 patients on the UMMC kidney transplant waiting list and that the number changes from day to day, but the number of people needing new kidneys continues to grow.
“Per capita, Mississippi has one of the highest rates of dialysis and kidney disease in the nation,” Anderson said.
“So if you measure it per capita, we have a high need for kidney transplants, which is one of the reasons why we want to grow our volume so that we can meet that need.”
In 2012, the UMMC teams performed the first kidney transplant ever to be done in the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson. UMMC plans to expand its transplant services to other facilities by sending teams to hospitals throughout the state. However, that portion of the statewide outreach is not finalized.
“It’s best for a state this size to just have one center that does transplantations and does it very well,” Anderson said.
“Instead of patients always having to drive to Jackson, say, once a month at some preset time, a team of doctors would go to a clinic in their community.”
The other focus of expansion is community education about transplants. Part of UMMC’s mission is to educate people on donations, especially living donations. Statistically, kidneys donated by living people are more viable. UMMC and MORA are working together to re-establish a living-donor kidney program. UMMC will have its first living-donor case in summer 2013, according to Anderson.
UMMC gets its organs from MORA, the federally designated organ procurement organization for most of Mississippi.
MORA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Stump said he appreciates the families who donate and that he is pleased with the success of the UMMC leadership.
“This transplant record at The University of Mississippi Medical Center is wonderful, but it couldn’t have happened without the families from Mississippi who said yes to donating their loved ones’ organs,” Stump said.
