by Scott & White’s commitment
to its patients.
Each year in the United States,
about 16,000 kidney transplants
are performed. As with most organ
transplants, that number is limited
by the availability of donors.
But Dr. Doherty says that we can
impact the growth of this number
because living donors are welcome
and, in fact, on the rise at Scott &
White. In 2013, seven living donations
were performed, which was the highest
number of living donors the healthcare
system has had in a single year.
Dr. Doherty directs the living donor
kidney transplantation program at Scott
& White Healthcare. “When a kidney
patient becomes eligible for a transplant,
they are encouraged to ask family and
friends to consider donating a kidney.
One advantage is that kidneys from a
live donor last longer. Another is time.
Rather than spend years on the waiting
list, recipients with a live donor can
receive a new kidney within a month of
the first consultation, provided all goes
well,” she says.
Most pancreas transplants are
performed in conjunction with a
kidney transplant, says Dr. Lappin,
who completed a fellowship training
program in pancreas transplantation at
the University of Minnesota. Diabetes
interferes with the pancreas’s ability to
produce insulin, which moves the sugar
called glucose out of the blood and
into tissues, supplying energy to the
body. “The problem with poor glucose
control, which is what it all boils down
to, is that it causes vascular disease,”
says Dr. Lappin, surgical director of the
kidney/pancreas transplant program.
Vascular disease, in turn, can become
kidney disease.
Pancreas transplantation surgery,
alone or in combination with kidney
transplantation, is difficult and
painstaking. A dual kidney/pancreas
transplant can last six hours. The
combined operation is typically
performed only on patients younger
than age 50 because the success rate is
greater up until that age. Pancreas-only
transplants are uncommon, although
Dr. Lappin and her team performed
one in October. Scott & White hopes
to increase the number of pancreas
transplants in Central Texas to help
more patients, says Dr. Lappin.
Transforming lives
through transplantation
Time on the waiting list at Scott &
White is one to three years compared
with up to five years at hospitals in
larger cities. Dr. Doherty calls this a
“huge advantage” for patients within
the Scott & White Healthcare system.
In addition to kidney and
pancreas transplantation, we also
provide heart, lung, corneal, and
blood stem cell transplants. Heart
and lung transplantations offer lifesaving treatments for patients when
those crucial organs fail. The heart
transplantation program received
certification from the Centers for
Medicare Services in 2012.
Corneal transplants replace diseased
or scarred corneas and restore sight.
Scott & White also offers autologous
blood stem cell transplants, which
means that a patient receives his or
her own cells. This therapy is for
patients with cancer who face certain
types of chemotherapy and radiation
treatments, which can kill healthy
cells. Bone marrow stem cells are
collected from the patient’s blood prior
to the infusion treatment and then
transplanted back when the treatment
is completed.
If Scott & White did not offer these
programs, patients in Central Texas—
and their families—would have to travel
to Houston, Dallas or Austin to receive
transplants. “We’re really fulfilling
the mission of Scott & White to access
the highest-quality healthcare here,”
says Dr. Lappin. n
Dr. Jaffers is an associate professor of
surgery at the Texas A&M Health Science
Center College of Medicine.
Dr. Narayanan is an associate professor of
medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science
Center College of Medicine.
sw.org | April 14 THE CATALYST
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