Living Kidney Donation Guide

Kidney Transplant Innovation

Our team is continually advancing kidney transplant procedures. We pioneered the use of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy to ease the procedure for living kidney donors. Our team was the first to perform a simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplant in Indiana, and we further innovated this procedure by developing a technique to place both organs on the right side only. This allows for a less invasive surgery and preserves the vessels on one side if a future transplant is needed.

Lung Transplant Innovation

Indiana’s first single lung transplant in 1989 was performed by the Transplant team at IU Health. In two short years, we performed the state’s first bilateral sequential lung transplant. It is our continual advancements in transplant and commitment to our patients that placed our IU Health Transplant team among the first five Center of Excellence chosen for Medicare approval for lung and heart/lung transplantations.

Cutting-edge

With over 100,000 people waiting for an organ, the single biggest problem associated with solid organ transplantation is the shortage of suitable organs. IU Health Transplant is one of only a few centers doing xenotransplant research in hope of one day offering those awaiting liver transplant a bridge to transplant until a suitable organ is available.

We maintain one of the largest detailed databases tracking patients' pre-transplant health and the organs' health markers, enabling us to mach the right organs to the right individuals.