Today the National Kidney Registry (NKR) announced that it has reached the 100 Member Center milestone with the reactivation of the University of California, Davis Transplant Center.
The NKR is the world’s largest paired exchange program, facilitating over 1,000 transplants annually for patients who are seeking a better-matched donor and a better transplant outcome. In 2021, the NKR facilitated 17% of all living donor kidney transplants in the United States and its 100 Member Centers accounted for 64% of all living donor kidney transplants in the United States.
Dr. Junichiro Sageshima, Surgical Director, Living Donor Kidney Transplant Program for University of California, Davis stated, “We have rejoined the NKR to increase access to living donor transplants for our patients and to provide the best and most comprehensive protections and support for our living donors.”
Dr. Sandip Kapur, Chief of Transplant Surgery and the Jeanette and Jeffrey Lasdon Director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, and Medical Board member of the NKR stated: “It seems like just yesterday that we were organizing the first swaps, and now we are celebrating an outstanding milestone that underscores the growing number of patients who will benefit from this collaboration between transplant centers across the country. On a personal level, it has been so gratifying to see how the NKR has united this country’s transplant community and saved so many lives.”
Garet Hil, Founder and CEO of the National Kidney Registry, commented, “Reaching the 100 Member Center milestone took 15 years to achieve and demonstrates the amazing teamwork and dedication of the transplant community in the United States. National multi-center paired exchange has not only eliminated the problem of incompatible donors, it has opened the door to finding better-matched donors for compatible pairs, providing the opportunity for a longer-lasting transplant with less immunosuppressive medications.
For a list of the National Kidney Registry Member Centers, click here.
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