The Transplant & Tissue Engineering Center
Thousands of children die or suffer severe illness while awaiting organ
transplants, and even those that undergo transplants are at risk of organ
rejection.
At Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, about 50 children per year benefit
from liver and kidney transplants, making the Hospital one of the busiest
transplant centers in the country. Packard's survival rates for children
with organ transplants are among the best in the world.
Packard physicians and scientists also are at the forefront of new approaches
to transplants and tissue engineering. Some scientists are researching
ways to "grow" tissue and organs using the patient's own cells.
Others are at work on minimizing organ rejection by "coaching"
the body to recognize a new organ after surgery.
Some of the funding priorities for the Transplant and Tissue Engineering
Center include:
- Creation of a new dialysis unit.
- Endowed funds to support positions in surgical research, pediatric
transplantation and intestinal disorders.
About one in every 500 children is born with a urinary tract defect.
As a result, some of these children need new kidneys even before they
can walk.
|
"The goal is not only to restore the child's
health, but also to optimize the quality of life for every transplant
patient."
- Oscar Salvatierra Jr., M.D., director of Packard's Pediatric
Kidney Transplantation Program
|
|
