About Our Transplant Program

Established in 1981, UPMC has performed more than 20,000 adult and pediatric organ transplants, including liver, kidney, pancreas, small bowel, liver/small bowel, heart, heart/lung, double-lung, single-lung, and multiple-organ transplants.

For more than 40 years, our experts have led the development of therapies and innovative treatment options to enhance the quality of life of patients of all ages and their families. As our reputation for transplant excellence and experience has grown, so too has our ability to manage the complex disease processes.

Today, our mission is to provide transplant services and surgery options to all who will benefit, including those that other transplant centers deem high-risk or unfit for transplant.

UPMC Lung Transplant Program

Since the inception of the UPMC Lung Transplant Program in 1982, our surgeons have performed more than 2,350 lung and heart-lung transplants. We are one of only a few lung transplant centers in the United States that has achieved this volume while maintaining outcomes that are consistent with national averages.

UPMC Heart Transplant Program

The UPMC Heart Transplant Program is among the most experienced programs in the world. Our outcomes are comparable to the national average, and we are one of only a few programs with heart recipients who continue to thrive nearly 40 years after their surgeries.

UPMC Liver Transplant Program

Since Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD, performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967, UPMC has forged a path to the forefront of the field. The UPMC Liver Transplant Program leads the nation in overall liver transplants performed from both deceased and living donors. 

UPMC Kidney Transplant Program

As a nationally recognized kidney transplant center, we pride ourselves on our carefully structured protocol and kidney transplant waitlist times that are among the lowest in the region. Our team brings decades of experience in both deceased-donor and living-donor transplants.

UPMC Gastrointestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Program

The UPMC Gastrointestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Program is home to a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, gastroenterologists, internists, nurse coordinators, dietitians, and pharmacists who have developed a full spectrum of treatment options for patients from across the country who present with a wide variety of conditions and complications that may lead to the need for intestinal transplant.

Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation

Under the guidance of Thomas E. Starzl MD, PhD, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh established The Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation, the first pediatric transplant program in the country, in 1981. The program has performed more than 3,200 pediatric transplants to date—more than any other center—while achieving patient survival rates that are among the highest in the world.