Dartmouth-Hitchcock Launches National Kidney Transplant Program

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Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has successfully kicked off a national pilot program that helps to pair kidney donors with transplant recipients.

Dr. David Axelrod is the section chief of transplantation surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

Axelrod says this is the first time kidneys from living donors have been coordinated and transported using a national network for potential matches. 

(Axelrod) "Logistically, we were able to show that it really is perfectly safe to have the kidneys travel instead of the donors."

(Host) Axelrod says that with a donor shortage getting worse, the national program will greatly expand the pool of living donor transplants. 

(Axelrod)  "When you combine a national list with a logistical system that allows kidneys to get to where they need to be rapidly, we think that this will open up the opportunities for a great number of patients who want to take part in these paired donations to actually be able to do so."

(Host) Dr. Axelrod says this pilot operation shows that combining data from multiple networks can generate successful matches that may not be found through a single organization.

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