Driving Sustainable Growth in Transplant Surgery

Transplant volume at UVA Health has grown significantly in recent years. Kidney transplants, for example, have increased from 149 in 2021 to 241 in 2024 — a remarkable 62% rise. Overall transplant numbers have also surged, from 287 total transplants in 2020 to 385 in 2024, representing a 34% increase. Building on this momentum, UVA aims to reach 500 transplants per year within the next five years, underscoring the institution’s commitment to providing life-saving care to more patients than ever before. To reach this ambitious goal, UVA’s Division of Transplant Surgery is expanding access, advancing education, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to increase volume while improving patient outcomes.

Expanding Access

To ensure equitable access to care, UVA has opened new outreach clinics across Virginia — including the communities of Riverside, Wytheville, Arlington, Richmond, and Danville — with a focus on underserved and rural regions. These clinics bring expert transplant care closer to patients who would otherwise face long travel times for follow-up visits and treatments.

“We’re bringing care to where patients are,” said Chief of Transplant Shawn Pelletier, MD. “Instead of driving six hours from western Virginia, very sick patients can now find high-quality care close to home.”

UVA has also enhanced its main clinic facilities to streamline patient care. A new infusion area allows patients to receive IV treatments, lab draws, and testing (such as heart studies and echocardiograms) all in one visit. The addition of a Pulmonary Function Testing Lab further expedites evaluation and treatment for patients with respiratory complications. These advances extend beyond patient convenience; they represent a systemic shift toward comprehensive outpatient care, enabling quicker results, fewer hospital admissions, and better overall outcomes.

Patient Education

Education remains at the heart of UVA’s mission. The Living Donor First Campaign, started in Fall 2025, introduces every patient and family to the lifesaving potential of living donation early in the transplant process. “The most significant limitation on our ability to help patients is the number of donated organs available for transplant,” said Dr. Pelletier.

“Our new Living Donor First program ensures every patient understands that living donation can offer shorter wait times and longer-lasting organs.” – Shawn Pelletier, MD, Chief of Transplant

The campaign also raises awareness about donor exchange programs through the National Kidney Registry, which matches incompatible donor-recipient pairs with others across the country. These “kidney swaps” and paired donations greatly expand the pool of viable transplants and improve the likelihood of successful matches.

Organ Utilization

One of the most impactful changes to UVA’s transplant infrastructure has been its recent designation as a Donor Care Unit (DCU). A DCU provides ICU-level care for organ donors, with dedicated operating rooms and trained staff to maximize the number and quality of organs recovered for transplantation.

Through partnerships with non-transplant hospitals across Virginia, UVA now receives donors from facilities that lack the resources for advanced organ recovery. This initiative not only increases the number of organs available but can also result in one additional life saved per donor through improved organ preservation and utilization.

UVA’s rapid growth and improved organ utilization is also fueled by groundbreaking technology. New organ preservation techniques are expanding the donor pool and improving transplant success rates:

• Normothermic Machine Perfusion (NMP): NMP keeps organs alive outside the body using warm, oxygenated blood, allowing surgeons to evaluate and treat organs before transplantation.

• Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP): NRP restores blood flow to organs within the donor’s body after circulatory death, revitalizing organs for transplant that previously would not have been viable.

These techniques have proven effective in resuscitating liver and lung tissue, dramatically increasing the number of transplantable organs. Meanwhile, advancements in kidney immunosuppression are reducing toxicity, improving long-term function, and enhancing quality of life for recipients.

In addition, UVA has opened a dedicated Transplant Oncology Clinic, offering innovative treatment for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. In 2023, the team performed its first liver transplant for nonresectable colorectal metastasis, one of only a few programs in the country to do so. Nine months after surgery, the patient remained cancer-free.

This paradigm shift, treating metastatic cancer with transplantation, represents a bold step toward viewing certain cancers as chronic but manageable diseases, with survival rates increasing from around 10% to 80% at five years.

Additionally, UVA is expanding transplant eligibility for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) by incorporating pre- and post-transplant interventions that address relapse risk. This holistic approach has increased a three-month survival rate of 20% to a one-year survival rate of 95%, saving lives once thought untreatable.

Research and Philanthropy

Under the leadership of Shaddab Siddiqui, MD, UVA’s new Director of Transplant Research, the division is integrating clinical innovation with scientific discovery and philanthropy. The team has set an ambitious goal to raise $25 million over the next five years to accelerate research and patient care advancements.

On September 22, supporters gathered for the 11th Annual UVA Transplant Golf Benefit at Boar’s Head Resort, a cornerstone fundraising event that helps sustain UVA’s mission to extend and improve the lives of transplant patients.

From community outreach and patient education to cutting-edge research and technology, UVA Health’s Transplant Division is redefining what comprehensive care looks like in the modern era. With continued growth, collaboration, and innovation, UVA is on track to reach its goal of 500 transplants per year, ensuring that more Virginians have access to lifesaving care close to home.