Clinical Strengths

A partnership between Transplant Surgery, Nephrology, and Radiology, the Dialysis Access Program offers a streamlined single point-of-contact to triage the needs of dialysis patients. Through our expertise and access to technologies many institutions don’t have — including HeRO hemodialysis access graft for patients who are catheter-dependent and laparoscopic and percutaneous perennial dialysis placement options — we’re able to provide service to patients who’ve run out of other options.

We’ve performed more than 5,400 kidney transplants and more than 400 pancreas transplants, making our program one of the largest in the country. Our services include a paired kidney donation program to serve hard-to-match recipients and a kidney desensitization program for patients at risk of organ rejection due to high antibodies or blood type mismatch.

As one of the oldest liver transplant centers in the country, we perform 80 to 100 liver transplants a year. Our approach to care emphasizes a patient’s holistic health, and applies a “prehabilitation” approach centered on nutrition, exercise, and social support. Our peer mentoring program for liver transplant patients has been recognized as a model for other institutions. We also seek to improve outcomes for patients statewide by exchanging data across 7 centers through our Michigan Quality Surgical Collaborative for Liver Transplant Patients.

As one of the oldest liver transplant centers in the country, we perform 80 to 100 liver transplants a year. Our approach to care emphasizes a patient’s holistic health, and applies a “prehabilitation” approach centered on nutrition, exercise, and social support. Our peer mentoring program for liver transplant patients has been recognized as a model for other institutions. We also seek to improve outcomes for patients statewide by exchanging data across 7 centers through our Michigan Quality Surgical Collaborative for Liver Transplant Patients.

We’re one of the few centers in the country to treat high-risk patients with portal hypertension, portal vein thrombosis, or mesenteric veno-occlusive disease. We manage this complex disease with nonsurgical treatments coordinated across interventional radiology, transplant surgery, pediatric surgery, and hepatology.

Our pediatric programs focus on the psychological wellness of both patient and family as they undertake their transplant journey. With more than 30 years of expertise in pediatric transplants, our approach to care emphasizes a team approach to coordinate treatment for even the youngest patients. Our post-transplant graft and patient survival rates rank among the world’s best.