Nephrology and Kidney Transplant Surgery

Nephrology and Kidney Transplant Surgery

Finding new avenues for kidney transplantation

UC Davis Children’s Hospital is home to the Sacramento region’s only pediatric nephrology and renal transplant program, where we use research and early adoption of emerging techniques to help influence volume and outcomes locally and nationally. The center was one of the early programs to accept and use en bloc organs from very young deceased donors (median age 1 year) for transplant into pediatric patients.

In 2016 we followed with a comprehensive analysis of national transplant registry data, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, suggesting that the organs have similar outcomes as those from standard deceased donors. The findings could have an important impact on clinical care, as opening up a new source of donor kidneys could shorten wait times and reduce reliance on dialysis.

Unique dialysis service

To better serve children waiting for a kidney transplant, in 2016 our program added the region’s only outpatient peritoneal dialysis service for patients under 10 years of age.

Nationally ranked

Our pediatric nephrology program ranked 23rd nationally in 2017-18 U.S. News & World Report rankings. The pediatric kidney transplant service is part of an overall UC Davis kidney transplant program that regularly ranks among the top five U.S. centers by volume.

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“We are so thankful — if UC Davis didn’t have a dialysis program, we would have had to go to the Bay Area, which would have put a much bigger strain on our entire family. As it was, my husband and I stayed with Kaden every day post-surgery and for each of the 18 (I think) hospitalizations he’s had so far.” – Shannon Landes, whose son Kaden was born with polycystic kidney disease, but was able to receive outpatient dialysis at home until his scheduled transplant.

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