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Kidney Transplant Program

The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of Mayo Clinic transplant patients.

  1. The Match of a Lifetime

    When Ed Waters needed a kidney transplant, his wife, Darlene, stepped up to be his donor. The couple was delighted to find that, just as in the rest of their married life, they were perfectly compatible. When Ed and Darlene Waters of Glenwood City, Wisconsin, got married 43 years ago, it seemed they were an [...]

  2. Crafting An Artist's Healthy Future

    Lupus was wreaking havoc on Emily Olson's health. Her Mayo Clinic care team's decision to employ a medication typically not used for this autoimmune disorder, along with a kidney transplant, not only saved Emily's life, it reignited her independence and confidence. Emily Olson has always loved drawing, and she wanted to make a living with [...]

  3. A New Kidney With a Little Help From His Friends

    When Fred Anderson needed a new kidney, he didn't have to look far to find eager donors. His friends Jim Ross and Ted Schreiber both stepped forward. Although Jim ended up being the donor, all three banded together to ensure the transplant journey included plenty of support and camaraderie. Fred Anderson of Great Falls, Montana, [...]

  4. Bidding Farewell to Enormous, Faulty Kidneys

    "Owner of the world's largest kidneys" was never a title Gene Okun wanted to have. Today, thanks to a living donor and a Mayo Clinic surgical team, he no longer does. Gene Okun's kidneys had to go. They were big. They didn't work. And they were ruining his life. "My stomach's so big that it [...]

  5. Kidney Transplant Opens the Door to Lanell Johnson's Next Adventure

    Lanell Johnson's path to a kidney transplant wasn't easy. But now that she's received a new kidney and is enjoying a return to good health, Lanell and her husband are eager to move forward. Lanell Johnson takes pride in what she calls her battle scars ? the result of her long journey to a successful [...]

  6. 'Lobby Days' Offer Life-Changing Information About Kidney Transplants

    After enduring kidney dialysis for years, a conversation Martin Ruiz Zerme?o had at his dialysis center with Mayo Clinic social worker Jeffrey Welch paved the way to a successful kidney transplant. Martin Ruiz Zerme?o's home was melancholy. "When you don't feel well, there's sadness at home," he says. Stealing joy from Martin's life was kidney [...]

  7. Liver and Kidney Transplants Revive Ron Hale's Zest for Life

    A host of serious medical problems put Ron Hale on a downward spiral of deteriorating health. But a liver and a kidney transplant at Mayo Clinic stopped Ron's decline and dramatically improved his quality of life. Diagnosed with cirrhosis in March 2013, Ron Hale spent several long years coping with declining health and frequent hospitalizations. [...]

  8. Bring Him Now: Transplant Teams Bring Together 'Mayo Clinic at Its Finest' For Young Patient

    When 4-year-old Maksim Messerer's kidney function declined suddenly and unexpectedly, surgical staff from across Mayo Clinic quickly came together to perform his kidney transplant several weeks ahead of schedule. New Year's Eve is supposed to be a time of celebration and hope. But for Jeremiah and Rachael Messerer, Dec. 31, 2014, was anything but celebratory. [...]

  9. Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Cements Brothers' Bond

    Always close growing up, a successful kidney donation and transplant strengthened the connection between siblings Jim Von Holtum and Greg Vaske. Jim Von Holtum is the third-youngest child, and the youngest boy, in a mixed family of eight brothers and sisters. His half-brother Greg Vaske was already 13 years old when his baby brother was [...]

  10. In Need of a Second Transplant, Remy Marceau Fights On

    Four years after receiving a life-saving transplant, Remy Marceau was devastated when his body rejected the new kidney. Today he's using humor and hope to buoy his spirits as he waits for another transplant. Remy Marceau of Phoenix never expected to look back with such fondness on the four years after he received a life-saving [...]
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References
  1. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. http://www.srtr.org/default.aspx. Accessed April 7, 2016.
  2. U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News Best Hospitals 2015-16. http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings. Accessed Feb. 22, 2016.
  3. Orandi BJ, et al. Kidney transplants from incompatible live donors. New England Journal of Medicine. 2016;374:940.
  4. Riggin EA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 5, 2016.
  5. Schinstock CA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 18, 2014.
  6. Lallas CD, et al. The development of a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy program in a de novo renal transplant program: Evolution of technique and results in over 200 cases. Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. 2006;10:135.
  7. Mai ML (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. April 26, 2016.
  8. Stulak JM, et al. Combined heart and abdominal organ transplantation: Excellent outcomes gained from a unique experience. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2014;33:S278.
  9. Li H, et al. Assessing the efficacy of kidney paired donation — Performance of an integrated three-site program. Transplantation. 2014;98:300.
  10. Cornell LD, et al. Positive crossmatch kidney transplant recipients treated with eculizumab: Outcomes beyond 1 year. American Journal of Transplantation. 2015;15:1293.
  11. Shapiro R, et al. Benefits and complications of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 11, 2016.
  12. Polycystic kidney disease. National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/polycystic/. Accessed March 16, 2016.
  13. Raichlin E, et al. Combined heart and kidney transplantation provides an excellent survival and decreases risk of cardiac cellular rejection and coronary allograft vasculopathy. Transplantation Proceedings. 2011;43:1871.
  14. Heilman RL, et al. Steroid avoidance immunosuppression in low-risk kidney transplant recipients. Transplantation Proceedings. 2005;37:1785.
  15. Jay CL, et al. Reassessing preemptive kidney transplantation in the United States: Are we making progress? Transplantation. 20165;100:1120. http://www.transplantjournal.com. Accessed April 6, 2016.
  16. Bentall A, et al. Five-year outcomes in living donor kidney transplants with a positive crossmatch. American Journal of Transplantation. 2013;13:76.
  17. Prieto M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 11, 2016.
  18. Dharnidharka VR, et al. Kidney transplantation in children. New England Journal of Medicine. 2014;371:549.
  19. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Your child's kidney transplant. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2016.
  20. Kidney transplant team describes current work. Mayovox. 1967;18:24.
  21. Kudva YC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 14, 2016.
  22. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Kidney transplant. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2013.
  23. Rossi AP, et al. Evaluation of the potential renal transplant recipient. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed April 6, 2016.
  24. Cramer CH II (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 27, 2016.
  25. Li H, et al. The limits of paired donation — Who doesn't get transplanted? American Journal of Transplantation. 2013;13(suppl 5). http://www.atcmeetingsabstracts.com/abstract/limits-of-paired-donation-who-doesn’t-get-transplanted-the/. Accessed April 27, 2016.
  26. Crespo HS, et al. Kidney transplantation in the septuagenarian. American Journal of Transplantation. 2015;15(suppl 3). http://www.atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/kidney-transplantation-in-the-septuagenarian/. Accessed April 27, 2016.
  27. Taner T, et al. Decreased chronic cellular and antibody-mediated injury in the kidney following simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation. Kidney International. 2016:89:909.

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