Kidney transplants resume at UTMC
1/29/2013The University of Toledo Medical Center has resumed its kidney-transplant program, the university said Monday.
University spokesman Jon Strunk said the first operation took place Thursday.
“We look forward to continuing all deceased-donor and living-donor procedures in the months and years ahead,” he said, adding he was not allowed to release information about patients.
UTMC voluntarily suspended live-donor kidney transplants in August after a viable kidney was thrown away during a surgery. The incident led to policy and procedure reviews at the medical center and visits by oversight bodies.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services notified officials of the former Medical College of Ohio earlier this month that UTMC is in compliance with Medicare requirements for transplant centers.
“For more than 40 years, patients and families from across the country and around the world have looked to The University of Toledo’s renal transplant program as a leader, an innovator, and an organization dedicated to improving their quality of life,” Mr. Strunk said. “With greater than a 98 percent success rate resulting from more than 1,700 renal transplants, UTMC has had among the best outcomes in the nation for patients.”