Friday, March 11, was a record-setting day for the renal transplant service at Texas Children’s Hospital with the team completing four kidney transplants in 18 hours.
Wednesday evening, Claudia Kim, renal transplant coordinator, received a call that two kidneys were available and were a match for two of our patients. Kim and Dr. Eileen Brewer, medical director of renal transplantation at Texas Children’s, went into action contacting families and making arrangements within the hospital to admit the patients the next day.
Early Thursday morning, Kim received a call that a third kidney was available, and at 4 p.m. she was notified that we had a fourth. Both of those organs were a match for another two of our patients. With the help of renal transplant coordinators, Kirti Bhakta and Dana Harney, those families were notified. The medical and surgical renal transplant teams then shifted into high gear preparing for Friday, the day all four kidneys were transplanted.
The organ recipients and their families began arriving at the hospital at 6 p.m. Thursday to be admitted and prepped for surgery. Brewer and Dr. Christine O’Mahony, surgical director of renal transplantation, coordinated with our inpatient floors, the dialysis team, the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the operating rooms and pharmacy to make the transplants possible for all four patients.
Everyone involved was determined to make it happen for the patients who ranged from 4 to 28 years old. There were three female patients and one male patient. The 28-year-old had been on dialysis for 13 years waiting for a kidney.
O’Mahony and renal transplant surgeon Dr. Ron Cotton began the first transplant at 6 a.m. Friday. The second transplant started at 8 a.m., and the third and fourth began at 3:30 p.m. After surgery, all of the patients were admitted to the PICU. Two patients have since been discharged from the hospital. The remaining two patients are still here and are doing well.
It took an astounding team effort to complete the admission of four transplant patients and complete four surgeries in less than 24 hours. Renal surgeons and pediatric nephrologists, anesthesia, pharmacy, the PACU and PICU, perioperative nurses and technicians, renal transplant coordinators, the blood bank, 12 West Tower inpatient nurses and staff, the dialysis unit, social workers, child life specialists and dietitians all were involved in making this possible.
“We could never have done this without everyone’s input,” Brewer said. “I personally cannot thank the team enough.”
“Our biggest reward that day was the thanks and appreciation from the patients and their families for getting a new kidney,” Brewer added. “These patients can look forward to a great future.”
The last transplant on Friday was the 400th kidney transplant completed at Texas Children’s since the program began in 1988.
Renal Transplant Team Members and Operating Room Staff on March 11
Anesthesia
Dr. Steven Stayer
Dr. Paul Hopkins
Dr. Titilopemi Aina
Dr. Thomas Shaw
Medical Team
Dr. Eileen Brewer
Dr. Poyyapakkam Srivaths
Dr. Sarah Swartz
Dr. Rossana Malatesta
Dr. Neziha Celebi
Dr. Peace Imani
Dr. Leyat Tal
Operating Room staff on March 11
Theresa Bagley
Jana Brunet
Danielle Govea
Doreen Hodgson
Hubert Laws
Lindsay Meade
Xianghua Xu
Pharmacy
Ji Lee
Renal Transplant coordinators
Claudia Kim
Kirti Bhakta
Dana Harney
Surgical Team
Dr. Christine O’Mahony
Dr. Ron Cotton
Dr. Thao Galvan (Recovery)