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HOUSTON, TEXAS (Jan. 30, 2023) ― For the sixth consecutive year, Texas Children’s Hospital leads the nation in pediatric transplants, as reported by the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network (OPTN), the country’s unique public-private registry for organ matching.
The newly released OPTN data places the nation’s largest children’s hospital No. 1 for pediatric heart, liver and lung transplants, and No. 2 for pediatric kidney transplants in the United States.
In 2022, Texas Children’s Hospital Transplant Services successfully performed 99 transplants, outpacing all other children’s hospitals by more than 20 complex surgeries.
“The Transplant Services team has consistently exceeded benchmarks, advanced research and established Texas Children’s as the top hospital for life-saving pediatric organ transplants,” said Mark A. Wallace, President and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital. “I am so proud of everything this team has accomplished and, most importantly, how many children’s lives they have saved. The passion and dedication of each member of this team is an inspiration to everyone at Texas Children’s.”
In 2022, the Texas Children’s Hospital Transplant Services team celebrated another milestone: the 20th anniversary of its lung transplant program, through which our experts have performed 240 life-saving surgeries since 2002. The team is well-equipped to care for patients with the most complex and complicated conditions, including infants and children on life support. Over the last decade, Texas Children's has performed more infant lung transplants than any other hospital in the nation.
Additionally, Texas Children’s Hospital received approval in 2022 from the OPTN to launch the nation’s first uterine transplant program housed within a pediatric transplant hospital. This innovative program, which aims to utilize uterus transplantation as a treatment option to help women with absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI) achieve healthy pregnancies, will be a close partnership between the Transplant Services team and the Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.
“While we are proud to have the highest volume of pediatric transplants, we are even more encouraged by our success rate,” said Dr. Larry H. Hollier, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Texas Children’s Hospital Department of Surgery. “Our patients need and deserve the very best. Their outcomes are our top priority, and our pediatric transplant success rate is a testament to our commitment to them. Texas Children’s experts possess a depth of skill and service, both within the transplant program and throughout the hospital, that enables patients — from infants to young adults — to receive life-saving lung, heart, liver and kidney transplants and best-in-class care.”
The Transplant Services team employs a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach through each aspect of the transplant process, ranging from initial referrals, which are accepted from around the world, to hospitalization and post-transplant outpatient care. The multidisciplinary team of pediatric transplant experts works closely with patients, families and referring physicians to make the evaluation process as convenient and efficient as possible.
Continuing its record of innovation and excellence, Texas Children’s Transplant Services team often achieves success with cases that other programs may consider untreatable. Its impressive list of firsts include:
- The first successful infant heart transplant in the United States.
- The first pediatric lung-kidney transplant in the United States.
- The hospital’s first — and one of only three in the nation — triple transplant of heart, lungs and liver in one procedure.
“We are only able to provide our patients with these life-saving transplants because of selfless organ donors and their families,” said Dr. John A. Goss, Medical Director of Transplant Services at Texas Children’s Hospital. “These heroes make each transplant success story possible, and the doctors, surgeons, care teams and pediatric transplant patients and families are so thankful for the gift of life from each donor.”
For more information about Texas Children’s Hospital Transplant Services, please visit https://www.texaschildrens.org/departments/transplant-services.
About Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children’s care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first HMO for children; has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country, Texas Children’s Pediatrics; Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.