Transplant
Welcome to the Mayo Clinic Transplant page! Mayo Clinic is the largest integrated transplant provider in the United States, performing over 1,500 solid organ and bone marrow transplants each year at our campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
In these pages, there are materials for transplant recipients as well as living donors. No matter where you are in your transplant journey, our goal is to connect you to others and provide you with information and support.
Weight Gain After Transplant: Where Does it Come From and How to Get Rid of It
Many factors can contribute to unwanted weight gain after your transplant. However, carrying around excess weight is unhealthy for post-transplant patients: it can hinder your recovery following surgery by slowing down healing, and it also may put you at higher risk for diseases or complications that stem from being overweight, [...]
Meet the Expert: Jeff Welch, M.S.W., L.M.S.W.
Jeff Welch, M.S.W., L.M.S.W, living donor transplant social worker and one of the pioneers of the Hispanic Transplant Program at Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus, has always been known to care for people, animals and even insects. “If I see a bug, I’ll scream,” his wife says. “Jeff, on the other [...]
Meet Matt: ‘You Never Think About a Living Donor Until Someone You Love Needs One’
Jairus “Matt” Pierce’s journey to transplantation began at age 13 following a diagnosis of kidney disease. By age 44, the disease had become debilitating. Matt was receiving daily dialysis and forced to take a light-duty assignment in his job as a shirt commander for the Gila River Fire Department in [...]
One Liver, Two Lives
Nearly 15,000 Americans are waiting for a liver transplant. Sadly, many may never get the call saying that an organ — and a second chance at life — has been found. Living organ donation is a promising alternative for those waiting for a liver transplant from a deceased donor. It’s [...]
Meet Scott: Brothers Bond Over Kidney Disease, Transplant
Scott was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy 15 years ago. The disease causes inflammation of the kidneys, limiting the organ’s ability to filter waste, excess water and electrolytes from the blood. While Scott didn’t have any major symptoms at first, the disease progressed over time, bringing Scott close to kidney failure. [...]
What to Expect: Post Transplant Care
The road to transplantation can be long and full of challenges, but your journey doesn’t end the day you receive your transplant. In fact, your new life is just beginning. The post-transplant process of keeping your new organ healthy and viable is just as important as that initial decision to [...]
Top Transplant Hacks: Patients Share Their Best Tips and Tricks
Your doctor gave you a list of do’s and don’ts to minimize your risk after transplant, especially due to your weakened immune system, and slowly you’ve begun to learn some tricks that help you in your recovery. Beyond this great information and experience, what if you could also get some [...]
Meet the Expert: Raymond Heilman, M.D.
As a college student, Raymond Heilman, M.D., nephrologist at Mayo Clinic’s campus in Arizona, started down the path to be a professional chemist, until a philosophy professor his junior year stopped him in his tracks. “You don’t want to go to grad school in chemistry,” the professor remarked. “Think about [...]
Meet Richard: Liver Transplant Gives Jacksonville Man New Hope, Twice
Meet Richard. Richard’s path to transplantation began when he started experiencing problems related to hepatitis C. When Richard’s liver became too damaged to function, he was placed on the organ donation waiting list and moved from his home in Maine to Jacksonville to increase his odds of receiving a liver [...]
Transplant Resource: Using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients
Your journey to organ transplantation will include many important decisions, including where to receive your transplant care. The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) is a critical resource that can empower your research into the various transplant centers that perform the type of transplant you need. Here are five things [...]
Post-Transplant Mental Health & Well-being: Q&A with Shelia Jowsey-Gregoire, M.D.
Receiving an organ transplant is a major, life-changing event. Often we think of the physical changes patients experience after transplant. Patients slowly go from being sick to being well again; they’re adjusting to new medications; routines they previously required to stay alive may no longer be needed. But transplant patients [...]
Getting Listed for Transplant
A key step in your journey to transplantation is getting listed for transplant. If you’re wondering how to begin, we’re here to help! When a transplant candidate has been evaluated and approved for transplant, they’re added to the national waiting list managed by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). [...]
Is There a Cut Off Age for Kidney Transplant?
Nadeen Khoury, M.D. was a special contributor to this blog post. Dr. Khoury is a renal transplant fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her interests include kidney transplant in the elderly and pregnancy after kidney transplant. One hot topic in the world of transplant has been what the appropriate cut off [...]
Meet Terrance: After a Liver Transplant, Financial Advisor Turns to Helping Others
Heart palpitations sent Terrance to his local hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire. But if he was being honest, he hadn’t felt well for the past six months. His eyes were bloodshot, he was jaundiced and had bruises. Terrance had severely deteriorated liver function. After getting his situation under control, Terrance [...]
Three Reasons Why Getting a Second Opinion Is Worth It
Getting a second opinion when you’ve been told you need a transplant takes time, travel and money, so why do it? A new Mayo Clinic study shows that it just may be worth your while. The study has found that more than 1 in 5 patients referred for a second [...]
