Kidney Transplant Program at Columbia

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I Need A Transplant »  |  I Want to Donate »

For people with kidney failure, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or severe diabetes, kidney transplantation is often the most effective option to improve your quality of life and extend your lifespan. Our mission at the Kidney and Pancreatic Transplant Program of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center is to offer our patients unmatched surgical skill, world-class support, and expanded access to live donor organs.

  • We are committed to doing whatever we can to make the transplant process easier for you. At our special outpatient facility we provide weekend and off-hour attention; our Infusion Center provides infusions and biopsies on an outpatient basis. We partner closely with donors and recipients and their referring physicians to enable a seamless continuum of care, while helping patients and their families navigate emotional, financial, and logistical concerns.
  • Thanks to advances developed here at Columbia, we’ve found new ways of expanding the donor pool, increasing the number of kidneys available for transplants, addressing the shortage of healthy organs, and reducing waiting times for organs.
  • As part of a large academic medical center and one of the top hospitals in the nation, our program has the resources to help patients with other medical issues that present barriers to transplantation, including pregnant women and women with infertility problems, obese patients, and patients at high risk due to advanced age or health conditions.

Transplantation is a life-altering procedure. We’re here to be your partners every step of the way. Call us at (212) 305-6469 to get started today, or sign up with one of our online forms: 
I Need A Transplant »  |  I Want to Donate My Kidney »



Stories & Perspectives

Unbreakable Bonds: The First Robotic Kidney Transplant Is a Testament to Lifelong Friendship

The first robotic kidney transplant at Columbia is a groundbreaking fete, but what it really demonstrates is the power of love and beautiful bond of family.


Who We Treat

We treat anyone dealing with complications from severe kidney disease. Your kidneys are responsible for several essential functions, including filtering waste, regulating fluids, and controlling blood pressure. While you have two kidneys, you can still live a healthy, active life with only one. When neither of your kidneys can function properly, it can lead to serious complications, like high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

ESRD means your kidneys have lost approximately 90% of their normal function. At that point, you must either go on dialysis—where a machine takes on the role of your kidneys for filtering waste from your blood—or undergo a kidney transplant.

Conditions We Treat

We offer transplants for kidney failure associated with a number of conditions, including:

Treatments We Offer

Our program is a leader in all types of kidney transplants, including

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure that takes a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor and transplants it into a person whose kidneys have stopped working. The transplanted kidney then takes over for the sick kidneys, which are usually left in the body to reduce the impact of the surgery.

The success of a kidney transplant depends on several important factors, including:

  • Compatibility of the donor and recipient
  • Skill of surgical and medical team
  • Adherence to the post-transplant management plan, including medication to avoid organ rejection and lifestyle changes

The goal of the Kidney Transplant Program at Columbia is to get people off the transplant list and back to living a healthy life. To tackle the chronic shortage of available organs, we’ve developed a system that allocates kidneys according to a person’s need, risk, and potential benefit, and we've found safer and more effective ways to overcome the body's natural tendency to reject a transplanted kidney.


Stories & Perspectives

Alive at 65: Three-time Transplant Recipient Jerry Cahill Appreciates Every Day

After a double-lung transplant, Jerry Cahill defies the odds with kidney-liver transplant, and continues to thrive and advocate for others.


Specialized Clinical Programs

If you’re in need of a kidney or pancreas transplant, we’re here to help you find an available organ, make sure you have a safe and successful surgery, and support you during every step of your recovery and beyond. Our Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program is a national leader in these critical areas, and we are always looking for new ways to improve all aspects of transplant care.

Our services include:

Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program

Children facing kidney disease need specialized care from physicians who understand both their medical conditions and their unique perspectives. Our team of pediatric kidney specialists have years of experience caring for children, bringing them comfort and stability through all the ups and downs of their treatment journey, and working closely with their parents to ensure the best results possible.

Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program

Living Kidney Donor Program

Living donor programs allow a relative or a compatible unrelated donor (such as a spouse or friend) to donate a kidney, bypassing the wait for an organ from a deceased donor to become available. Our program has been performing living donor transplants since 1970, and today we have the most active living donor service in the region. Because of our experience, we can coordinate logistically-complicated paired-donor exchanges (or “kidney swaps”) when a suitable kidney can’t be found from friends or family. We’ve also developed techniques that let us use kidneys from incompatible living donors in some cases.

Living Kidney Donor Program

Kidney Autotransplant Program

Patients with certain kidney diseases like loin-pain hematuria syndrome may benefit from an innovative surgical procedure called kidney autotransplantation. The Kidney Autotransplant Program at Columbia brings together the skills of nationally-recognized kidney transplant surgeons, vascular surgeons, and urologists to offer patients this minimally invasive treatment option. Columbia is the only institution in the Northeast with a dedicated renal autotransplantation program.

Kidney Autotransplant Program

Pancreas Transplantation Program

A pancreas transplant can mean a new life for people with severe diabetes (and often, diabetes-related kidney disease). Our transplant surgeons are pioneers in the field of pancreas transplantation and are amongst the most experienced in the nation at performing this complex procedure.

Pancreas Transplant Program


Program Highlights

A National Leader for Transplant Innovation

Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the largest transplant programs in the country, with an established record of superior outcomes. We offer the latest advances in transplantation and post-transplant management, including medication regimens that avoid the harsh side effects of long-term steroid use to prevent organ rejection.

Living Donor Program

While kidneys from deceased donors are the most common type of transplant, receiving a kidney from a living donor can dramatically improve health outcomes for transplant recipients. At Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian, our Living Donor Program is one of the largest in the nation. We will explore all live donor alternatives for you, including paired kidney exchanges and incompatible donor options. We are working hard to improve and expand this approach to make sure that as many people as possible have access to this life-saving procedure.

How to Become a Living Donor

Incompatible Donor

In cases where a living donor match isn’t available, it is now possible to offer kidney transplants for patients who would normally reject the donated kidney. This approach uses a process called plasmapheresis to reduce antibodies in your blood that would cause your body to reject the donor kidney. Columbia is one of the few institutions offering this cutting-edge approach.

Support for Every Stage

A kidney transplant is a life-changing procedure that requires ongoing management to avoid rejection and keep your new kidney healthy and functioning at its best. It’s important to partner with a program that can provide the support you need before, during, and after your surgery. At Columbia, you’ll partner with experts at every stage of your care journey.

Cardiorenal Care at Columbia

To qualify for a transplant, every potential participant must undergo a screening process that includes a cardiovascular health evaluation. However, traditional imaging tests use a contrast dye that can harm the kidneys. Columbia has pioneered a special “low-contrast” approach to evaluate and even treat cardiovascular issues using smaller amounts of contrast dye, reducing the risk and making screening possible.

Multi-Organ Transplant

Many patients with ESRD have complex health problems that have damaged more than one organ. For the patients, transplanting multiple organs—sometimes at the same time—offers the best chance of success. These complicated procedures require the highest level of precision, coordination, and skill from a surgical team. Columbia is an established leader in multi-organ transplants, including kidney/liver, kidney/pancreas, and kidney/heart.

Research

Our transplant team is leading research into transplantation innovation and increased patient survival. As the Transplant Program makes more organs available to more patients, investigators in Columbia University's Departments of Surgery and Medicine are working to make kidney transplant safer, by investigating how to circumvent the body's natural inclination to reject a transplanted kidney.


Our Team

Our transplant surgeons and nephrologists are here to partner with you in developing personalized care plans and answer any questions you may have along the way. To meet the team, call us at (212) 305-6469 or sign up with one of our online forms: I Need A Transplant »  |  I Want to Donate My Kidney »

Transplant Surgeons

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Lloyd E. Ratner, MD, MPH, FACS

Lloyd E. Ratner, MD, MPH | Surgical Director, Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Program

 

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Dr Jason Hawksworth

Jason Hawksworth, MD

 

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Dr Peter Liou

Peter Liou, MD

 

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Dr Nathaly Llore

Nathaly P. Llore, MD

 

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Dr Rodrigo Sandoval

Rodrigo Sandoval, MD

 

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Joshua Weiner, MD

Joshua Weiner, MD

 

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Dr Soo Youn Yi

Soo Youn Yi, MD
 

   

Nephrologists

Pediatric Nephrologists

  • Nemrata Jain, MD
  • Fangming Lin, MD
  • Smitha Vida, MD

Our full team goes beyond surgeons and kidney doctors to bring you fully comprehensive care and includes nurse coordinators, physician assistants, nutritionists, psychiatrists, social workers, and financial coordinators.


Stories & Perspectives

Firefighter Is Key to Historic Three-Way Kidney Swap

Kidney swaps enable incompatible donors to give to strangers, in return for a matched kidney that can help their own loved ones or family members. The chain of giving can start with a single altruistic donor. Thirty-nine-year-old Long Island firefighter John McGuinness recently became the lynchpin in a rare three-way kidney swap, performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia.


Our Location

Our patient offices are located at:

Presbyterian Hospital Building, 14th Floor
622 West 168th St.
New York, NY 10032
Get Maps & Directions »

Phone:
(212) 305-6469

Outpatient Clinic Hours of Operation:
Monday thru Friday
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM


Make an Appointment

To make an appointment with the Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Program, call (212) 305-6469 or sign up with one of our online forms:
I Need A Transplant »  |  I Want to Donate My Kidney »

We accept most major insurance plans and can verify your plan when you call to make your appointment. You can also have your doctor contact us for a referral and our team can help coordinate your care.


Resources & More

Planning & Preparing

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Information for Students and Healthcare Professionals