Kidney Transplant

Treatment in Arizona

The kidney transplant program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona started in June 1999. Using the Mayo Model of Care as the cornerstone, the program has performed more than 1,000 transplants, and offers both cadaver donor and living donor transplants. In 2003, Mayo Clinic in Arizona added pancreas and combined kidney and pancreas l transplants. The Kidney Transplant Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona combines medical and surgical expertise with leadership in clinical research, patient education and support.

Mayo Clinic in Arizona collaborates with Mayo's other sites in Minnesota and Florida to use similar protocols and maintain successful outcomes. The combined programs offer an opportunity for a healthier life to patients from all over the world.

Clinical Expertise

Patients entering the kidney transplant program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona benefit from the collective experience of specialists who are or may become involved in a patient's care and from a wealth of clinical and research expertise in transplant surgery and medicine. Under the direction of a highly experienced transplant surgeon, the program is staffed by specialists in the following departments:

• Anesthesiology
• Cardiology
• Dietetics
• Endocrinology
• Intensive care medicine
• Nephrology
• Neurology
• Nursing
• Physical medicine
• Psychiatry
• Radiology

Laboratory services include pathology, hematology, virology, immunology and blood banking.

In fall 2003, Mayo Clinic in Arizona began offering qualified patients access to a steroid avoidance protocol, which manages immunosuppression without using steroids. This reduces drug side effects and enhances patient outcomes and satisfaction.

See volumes and statistics for Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Appointments

Kidney Transplant Program
Mayo Clinic Hospital
5777 East Mayo Boulevard
Phoenix, AZ 85054
480-342-2468

Mayo Clinic Arizona
480-301-8000

Physician Referral Line:
866-629-6362 (toll-free)

Resources for Patients

Support services staff members play a vital role in the kidney transplant program. Transplant procurement coordinators manage acquisition and transport of the donor organ, and the transplant nurse coordinator participates in preoperative and postoperative patient care and education. Dietitians, research study coordinators, a financial counselor, social workers and chaplains also help guide patients and their family. A transplant support group meets regularly, allowing patients to share their experiences, concerns and questions.

Lodging

The Arizona Transplant House offers low-cost, homelike lodging for transplant patients and family members. The mission of the Arizona Transplant House is to provide high-quality, affordable accommodations in a caring, homelike environment for transplant patients and their family members/companions to foster mutual moral support, fellowship, sharing of experiences and a successful health care experience.

The Arizona Transplant House is part of the new Village at Mayo Clinic, a community lodging option for transplant and cancer patients. Casitas (Southwestern-style small houses) offer a home-away-from-home to Mayo Clinic's growing numbers of transplant patients. Each 4,100-square-foot casita will have six bedrooms and six bathrooms, a dining room, library, kitchen and laundry facility patients and their caregivers.

Referring Physicians

Mayo's kidney transplant team is committed to working closely with referring physicians to coordinate evaluation, treatment and postoperative management of transplant patients.

A physicians-only line provides referring primary care physicians access to a Mayo physician on the transplant team. The transplant team is available for consultation upon activation of the patient and post-transplant 24 hours a day.
Physician-only line: 1-866-629-6362 (toll-free).

The team also will follow the patient's progress on dialysis and work with the dialysis center prior to transplantation. This cooperative approach allows patient care to be shared between the referring physician and Mayo staff, depending on the needs of the patient, desires of the referring physician, and resources available in the patient's hometown.