The UC Davis Transplant Center performed the first fully robotic donor nephrectomy (kidney removal from a living donor) in the Sacramento region. The center was also one of the first to offer a minimally invasive donor nephrectomy. Our innovations lead to better patient outcomes.

Donors and recipients receive expert care from a team of highly trained transplant specialists. We monitor every aspect of your care, from the first evaluation to outpatient follow-up.

We have been at the forefront of transplantation surgery and care for three decades. Our kidney transplant program is one of the busiest in the nation.

The first step in the process is an evaluation. Your transplant team will give you a full medical exam and ask about your medical history. They will then discuss with you whether you can benefit from transplant surgery. They will answer your questions and explain what comes next.

HLA typing is a test that identifies antigens (proteins) in your blood. Antigens tell your body to attack foreign invaders like viruses or bacteria. They can also tell your body to attack (reject) a new organ. HLA typing helps us match you to a donated organ that your body is less likely to reject.

After you qualify for transplant surgery, your transplant team will add you to a local and national waiting list. Waiting periods can vary, but we will be here to support your health the whole time. When you match with a compatible donor organ, your transplant team will schedule your surgery.

Your exact procedure and hospital stay will depend on the type of transplant you have. You will learn about the medications you need to prevent your body from rejecting your new organ. Our team will also teach you how to watch for symptoms of rejection.

Your transplant team will monitor your recovery. You will see your transplant specialist for weekly follow-up appointments. You will also need lab tests to check for organ rejection and infection. If any problems come up, our transplant team will be ready to handle them.

Kidney failure means your kidneys can’t remove waste and extra water from your body. Conditions like chronic kidney disease and glomerular diseases can cause kidney failure. An acute kidney injury and other kidney damage may also cause kidney failure. We may first recommend treatment with medications and hemodialysis, which cleans waste from your blood. If these treatments do not work or you can’t continue them, you may be eligible for a kidney transplant.

Your liver helps your body digest food, store nutrients, remove waste from your blood and fight against infection. Liver failure can happen after disease or injury damages it and makes it unable to do its job. Several conditions can cause liver disease and failure, including alcohol-associated liver disease, liver cancer, hepatitis C or other diseases. If this damage is severe enough, you may need a liver transplant.

During a kidney transplant, your surgeon removes your kidney through your lower abdomen and replaces it with a donor kidney. Most kidney transplant procedures take three to four hours.

We may perform a liver transplant using a liver from a deceased or living donor. Livers can rebuild themselves, so it is possible to receive part of someone else’s healthy liver. If you will receive a liver from a deceased donor, we will notify you when it’s time to come to the hospital. We schedule living-donor transplant surgeries in advance.