Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/55875
University Hospitals' comprehensive, multidisciplinary team approach to organ transplantation consistently results in survival rates that are at or above national averages. in one location was to make it easier for pat ients, who are of ten very sick," explains the UH Transplant Institute's administrative director, Janie Morrison, FACHE. "Having the institute in place also makes it possible for greater collaboration between spe- cialists, which improves patient care." James Schula k, MD, a g rees . Dr. Schulak is an abdominal transplant surgeon at UHCMC. He is also the director of the Transplant Institute. "Transplantation is not just a surgi- cal procedure and not just a medical issue," he explains. "Patients need to be managed by a transplant specialist before they receive a transplant. After the transplant surgery, they also have to have long term follow-up care because of the risk of rejecting the transplanted organ." Add to this the extensive government oversight and reporting requirements for transplant programs, and it becomes clear why the UH Transplant Institute's one-stop-shop approach is so vitally important. Under the guidance of a transplant nurse coordinator, patients can meet with doctors, undergo psy- chosocial evaluation, talk to financial experts and review insurance issues related to transplantation — all in one location. Understanding Organ Failure Organs can fail for a variety of rea- sons. Of the 25,000 organ transplants performed in the U.S. each year, the vast majority are kidney transplants. The kidneys may be damaged over time by common conditions such as diabetes or hypertension or by less common conditions like glomerulonephritis or cystic kidney diseases. Once thought to be merely a way to free patients from dialysis, Dr. Schulak says kidney transplantation has since been found to also be life-saving. "Research has shown that people who have kidney transplants not only have improved quality of life, because they are not reliant on dialysis, but they also live longer," says Dr. Schulak. Because of the nationwide short- age of organs, federal requirements mandate that patients who need a heart, lung or liver transplant have a survival estimate of less than a year. In the case of heart disease, the most common indication is medically refractory heart failure which is associated with a very high mortal- ity. Lung transplant candidates may MARCH-APRIL 2012 n MDNEWS.COM n MD NEWS Cleveland-Akron-Canton | 13