Liver Transplant Program

The Hume-Lee Transplant Center began in 1964. The physicians at the Hume-Lee Transplant Center have been pioneers in both the treatment of liver diseases and liver transplantation. Their dedication to offering transplantation and other treatment options for those with End Stage Liver Disease is paramount to the successes found at VCU Medical Center.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation

For the patient with liver disease, living donor liver transplantation offers many advantages over deceased liver transplantation. The most critical variable that changes with the living donor approach is the time spent waiting for a deceased donor organ. In 1998, Virginia 's first living related donor segmental orthotopic liver transplant was performed at VCU Medical Center . Between 1998 and the present, the Hume-Lee Transplant Center has become world leader in pioneering living donor, adult-adult right lobe liver transplantation with over 75 cases performed with excellent clinical success for recipients and safety for donors. We were recently recognized in US News and World Report, July 23, 2001 issue, as the second busiest living donor liver transplant program in the USA .

Kidney and Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Program

Under Dr. David Hume's guidance, the kidney transplant program officially began in 1962. In August of that year, the first living related donor kidney transplant was performed; the following October, the first deceased kidney transplant took place. Although 1962 is designated as the formal start for the kidney program, it should be noted that Dr. Hume performed a successful kidney transplant between twins involving a living donor in 1957. Since its inception, over 1800 renal transplants have been performed at this center, with patient and graft survival which outperform national averages. (UNOS data, 2007)

Begun at the end of 1993, our center offers simultaneous kidney-pancreas or more recently, pancreas after kidneys transplantation for Type I Diabetics with end stage renal disease. Since inception, over 80 patients have received pancreas transplants at this center, with patient and graft survival which exceed national averages (UNOS data, 2007) Please refer to Pancreas Transplant for additional information.

Pancreas Transplant Program

The Hume-Lee Transplant Center has years of experience and great successes in regards to pancreatic transplantation. Our combined kidney pancreas transplant program began at the end of 1993; and in 2002, we began our pancreas transplant after kidney transplantation. Since the inception of these programs, over 80 patients have received a pancreas transplant. In 2008, we are pleased to announce that we will begin an islet cell transplant program. Islet cell isolation has emerged as a viable treatment option for Type I diabetics and the Hume-Lee Transplant Center is on the forefront of this procedure.

Living Donor Kidney Transplantation Program

For the patient with end-stage renal disease, living donor transplantation offers several advantages over deceased donor renal transplantation. The most critical variable that changes with the living donor approach is the time spent waiting for a donor organ. A living donor kidney transplant is a planned, elective surgery, which eliminates the "on call" aspect of waiting on the transplant list. A second advantage of living donor transplants is that 98% of all living donor kidneys work on the operating room table, therefore eliminating the risk of delayed graft function and dialysis. If the living donor is biologically related to the recipient, the genetic match may be better than with a deceased donor kidney transplant. Finally, the kidneys from a living donor last longer than from a deceased donor. The development of laparoscopic surgical techniques has made living donor renal transplants a more acceptable option for many potential donors and has led to a significant increase in the number of living donor renal transplants performed at our center each year for the past several years. In many patients, laparoscopic kidney donation has resulted in a reduced hospital stay of 1-3 days and the ability to return to work within two weeks. This approach reduces post-operative pain, shortens the period of convalescence, and improves cosmetic results compared to those associated with traditional open live donor renal surgery.

Multi-Modal Therapy for Hepatacellular Carcinoma

The treatment of patients with primary liver cancer has undergone radical improvement over the past five years using a multi-modal therapeutic approach. This approach provides new hope to patients with liver cancer where before they had few if any options. The management of patients with HCC has undertaken significant changes using non-resective ablative therapies such as radio frequency ablation, chemotherapy infusion, and chemoembolization. The Hume-Lee Transplant Center has one of the largest and most successful experiences with these techniques in the country at this time.

Vascular Access Program

This is the first Vascular Access Program established in the state of Virginia to address the quality of care for dialysis patients' vascular access needs. This is a multidisciplinary center concept involving nephrologists, surgeon and vascular radiologist to provide complete dialysis access patient care in the most efficient, economic and high quality manner.

Islet Transplant Program

The Hume-Lee Transplant Center’s Pancreatic Islet Transplantation is the newest addition to its impeccable services and reputation in transplant advances. Islet Cell Transplantation began at Hume-Lee in the fall of 2006. The goal of this program is to achieve insulin independence or a significant decrease in insulin requirements to Type 1 Diabetic patients.