The Section of Transplant Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine draws upon a long, successful history as it offers the latest advancements in the transplant field.


Washington University Transplant Surgery

The kidney transplant program dates to the 1960s at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, while the liver transplant program began in 1985 at both hospitals. In 1996, transplant surgeons performed the first adult living-unrelated donor liver transplant in the United States at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

About 40 percent of kidney transplants performed at Barnes-Jewish Hospital – and over half performed at St. Louis Children’s Hospital – use living donors. Our transplant surgeons offer both laparoscopic and “mininephrectomy” kidney donor procedures.

In the area of liver transplantation, the program offers living-related and living-unrelated donor transplantation, reduced-size liver transplantation, split liver transplantation and dual-organ (liver-kidney, heart-liver and liver-lung) transplantation.

Washington University transplant surgeons also are leaders in the international field of islet cell transplantation and have a pancreas transplant program that is the largest in Region 8: Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah. Washington University transplant surgeons have performed more than 100 pancreas transplants with excellent results.

Along with their clinical expertise, Washington University surgeons are leaders in the field of transplantation research and train fellows in a nationally recognized, two-year program certified by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

We encourage you to to learn more about our patient care, research and teaching programs.