UK Transplant Center Meets New Criteria for Pediatric Kidney and Lung Transplant

LEXINGTON, KY. (April 19, 2021) ­– The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), the regulatory body that sets policies and bylaws that govern the procedural aspects of policy development, allocation of donated organs and the collection of transplant data nationwide, has announced that the UK Transplant Center fulfills the criteria as a center for pediatric kidney transplant and pediatric lung transplants.

“Our mission is to help kids get back to being kids, so we are pleased the UK Transplant Center meets the criteria set by OPTN,” said Dr. Scottie B. Day, physician-in-chief at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. “This designation means we not only can continue to provide the best possible care for our young patients but to do so close to home.”

As of December 2020, OPTN bylaws require transplant candidates younger than age 18 to be registered at transplant programs that have been approved to have a pediatric component. To meet the criteria for having a pediatric component, a transplant center must retain an approved primary pediatric surgeon and primary pediatric physician. Pediatric guidelines for application are different because the primary surgeon and physician must have pediatric training and experience.  All surgeons at the UK Transplant Center meet these criteria and can operate on pediatric patients and UK is the only transplant center in the state that serves both pediatric and adult patients at one site.

More than 225 transplant procedures are performed each year at the UK Transplant Center. The center has provided solid organ transplantation services to more than 5,000 patients throughout the region since 1964. UK Transplant Center has clinic locations in Lexington, Louisville, Bowling Green and Northern Kentucky, providing care for transplant patients near the communities where they live and work.