Laboratories
The Hume-Lee Transplant Center’s transplant program relies on all disciplines and departments within the VCU Medical Center. The administrative and laboratory support services are paramount to the successes of the transplant center.
Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory
The Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory opened in 1965 as one of the first of its kind in the world. Under the direction of Mary Carmelle Philogene, Ph.D., the lab specializes in antibody detection and compatibility testing to match organ donors with waiting recipients for both the solid organ and bone marrow transplant programs. The HLA Laboratory is located in a 10,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park.
Watch our HLA Laboratory video to find out more about who we are and what we do.
Transplant laboratory
The center has a laboratory dedicated to the patients under the care of the transplant team. The laboratory staff performs testing for immunosuppressant drug levels, stat laboratory tests and a host of other tests.
Pancreatic Islet Cell Laboratory
Located in the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, the laboratory includes a cGMP-certified and FDA-approved clean room for the isolation of islets from the human pancreas. Clinical islet isolation procedures performed in this laboratory are instrumental in the treatment of patients suffering from Chronic Pancreatitis and Type-1 Diabetes. The clinical and research lab is led by Mazhar Kanak, PhD, and it is also the center for basic research in Type-1 Diabetes, Chronic Pancreatitis and Transplant Immunology.
Transplant Surgery Research Laboratory
Located in Sanger Hall, this research facility explores aspects of physiology and immunobiology as they relate to the transplantation of both cells and solid organs.