Sharing World-class Developments in Transplant

From 1963, when physicians at Cleveland Clinic performed the first kidney transplant in Ohio, to 2008, when our staff completed the nation's first near-total face transplant, Cleveland Clinic has been recognized as a pioneer in the field of transplantation.

Cleveland Clinic, consistently ranked as one of the top four hospitals in the country, offers one of the most comprehensive transplant programs in the world.  Our physicians continue to achieve outstanding outcomes while performing complex transplant procedures involving multiple organs, and the most critically ill patients.  We are able to provide the highest quality care for these transplant patients, and their families, due to the surgical-medical team approach that we employ, which enhances our efforts to develop more effective treatments.

All Cleveland Clinic staff transplant physicians are board-certified in a related medical specialty, and all transplant surgeons are board-certified in a related surgical specialty or have the international equivalent of board certification.

We are accredited by The Joint Commission and meet the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) standards as a center for heart, heart/lung, kidney, kidney/pancreas, liver, lung, intestinal and pancreas transplants.  UNOS certification has also been obtained for living donor liver and kidney transplantation.  We meet standards by the National Marrow Donor Program and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy as a center for bone marrow transplantation, and the Eye Bank Association of America standards for corneal transplants.  Our tissue transplantation program meets standards set by the American Association of Tissue Banking, the FDA, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons and The Joint Commission.

Cleveland Clinic was one of the first hospitals in the United States to become certified by Medicare under the new Conditions of Participation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for heart, heart/lung, kidney, kidney/pancreas, liver, lung, and pancreas transplantation.

The first intestinal transplant (first adult in Ohio) was completed at Cleveland Clinic.  Drawing on the expertise of our liver transplant specialists, colorectal and general surgeons, infectious disease and intestinal rehabilitation and nutrition specialists and gastroenterologists, we are expanding the program and, along with our patients, celebrating the renewed health an intestinal transplant can bring.  Cleveland Clinic is one of the only centers in the region performing adult small bowel transplantation.

Transplantation Outcomes

In this Special Transplant Edition of Speaking of Specialty Services, you will have an opportunity to review the 2008 Transplant Center Annual Report, a summary of outcomes and key data about Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center programs.  We are pleased to present this data and your comments are always welcome.

Sincerely,
John Fung, MD, PhD
Director, Transplant Center
Chairman, General Surgery
Chairman, Hepato-pancreato-biliary
and Transplant Surgery