UCSF marks a milestone with 500th transplant in heart and lung program

“Part of the benefit of being at UCSF is to work on the cutting edge of research, to never be satisfied with the status quo and to identify new recipient populations, new science, and new ways of improving care,” said Jeffrey Golden, MD, medical director of the UCSF Lung Transplant Program. “Our transplant population includes patients with unique rheumatological disorders and those with end stage lung disease secondary to congenital heart disease--patients with diseases that are just now being considered viable for transplantation.”

Research in transplant medicine has been a focus of the UCSF transplant program since it began. UCSF researchers are presently investigating a blood test instead of a biopsy to identify patients who might reject their donor organ and the future possibility of using inhaled immunosuppressants to stop transplant rejection. The Thoracic Transplant Program is also looking into diseases like scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself to create both end stage heart and lung disease.

The Heart Transplant Program at UCSF is researching the genomics of heart failure and donor organ rejection. The program began in 1989 and focuses on pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular failure, combined heart-kidney transplant, transplant for Chagas disease, transplant for congenital heart disease, and transplant for patients with heart failure and HIV.

The UCSF Lung Transplant Program began in 1991 and is a specialized center of excellence for treating cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. The program also focuses on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) as a bridge to transplant for acute respiratory failure, the role of transplant in malignancy (bronchoalveolar carcinoma), and transplant for HIV patients. Current research includes the genomics of transplant rejection, acute lung injury and fungal infections.

Information about all UCSF transplant programs can be found at: http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/organ_transplants/.

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.