M e t h o d i s t H e a l t h c a r e
Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital
(MSTH), a campus of Methodist Hospital,
has surpassed all other kidney transplant
centers in the United States, performing more
living donor kidney transplants than any other
single center since 2009. Part of that success
is due to the program’s robust paired kidney
donor exchange program, which completed its
250th exchange in January. No other center in
the U.S. has reached this level of experience.
The paired kidney donor exchange program includes
living donors who wish to donate a kidney but cannot
because of blood or tissue incompatibility with the re-
cipient. Incompatible pairs are matched with other in-
compatible pairs, comprehensive medical testing is
conducted, and donor pairs are matched with other pairs.
“Our philosophy is to help as many people as we can,
despite the challenges,” says
AdamBingaman, MD, PhD,
transplant surgeon and director of the program. “There
are over 95,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting
list, and their chances of receiving a transplant are low,
with an average wait of more than five years. Time is
against people on dialysis—the sooner we can get them
transplanted, the sooner they can return to good health.”
Each year about 4,500 Americans die waiting for a
kidney.
GIVING PEOPLE THEIR LIVES BACK
The paired donor
program at MSTH began in 2008 and has helped to
pioneer the field of paired donation, successfully per-
forming transplants in patients from across the U.S. and
international pairs from Canada and Italy. The program’s
success hinges on a team approach, along with a world-
class immunology laboratory.
“Our group likes a challenge,” Dr. Bingaman says of
difficult-to-match patients who have traveled from near
and far to receive exchange transplants in San Antonio.
“We never get tired of giving folks their lives back, free
from a dialysis machine.
KIDNEY
EXPERTS
Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital features the most
experienced living donor kidney transplant team in the U.S.
A GREAT GIFT: Roberto Pannicone (left) and Fillipo Gazza, from Italy, traveled to San Antonio to take part
in what became a record-breaking 250 kidney paired donations taking place in a single hospital. Pannicone
donated a kidney so his lifelong friend Gazza could receive a matched kidney.
“A special emphasis is on blood type and antibody
matching,” he continues. “We ensure each exchange recipi-
ent receives a kidney from a donor who is a complete or
very close match, often making it unnecessary to utilize
high-risk desensitization therapies to enable a transplant
between incompatible pairs.”
The program at MSTH is the largest live donor kidney
transplant program and the largest single-center paired
donation program in the nation. In a single-center pro-
gram, all the transplants involved in the exchange are
performed in one facility. The 250th exchange occurred
during a 10-recipient exchange over a three-day period.
Patients came from throughout Texas and from as far
away as Kansas and Italy. Recipients ranged in age from
38 to 78. Donors ranged in age from 19 to 66 and included
family members and friends.
“My doctor in Italy told me
about the successful kidney
transplant program at Meth-
odist in San Antonio,” says
Fillipo Gazza, 53, of Parma,
Italy. “Everyone I met gave
me hope and confidence that
I would get a matched kidney.
I am grateful to the transplant
team and to my friend Roberto
who donated a kidney on my
behalf.”
Gazza’s lifelong friend Roberto Pannicone, 52, of
Coho, Italy, traveled to San Antonio for an exchange
transplant.
“Our experience tells us that paired kidney exchanges
are patient-driven and could help about 2,000 patients
a year receive a kidney,” Dr. Bingaman says. “We want to
educate as many people as possible about this transplant
option and about our extensive experience with paired
exchange. The more pairs we have, the more recipients
will receive the kidneys they desperately need.”
If you need a kidney transplant or wish to be consid-
ered for one, please call our center at
800-888-0402
or
visit
.
For more information and
to access a series of
18 patient videos and
question-and-answer
information, visit
.
Adam Bingaman,
MD, PhD
“Our philosophy is to help as many people as we can, despite the
challenges…. We never get tired of giving folks their lives back, free
from a dialysis machine.”
—Adam Bingaman, MD, PhD, transplant surgeon and director of the paired kidney donor exchange program
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