KIDNEY TRANSPLANT
The kidney and pancreas transplantation program counted several highlights during 2016 :
• A total of 207 kidney transplants were performed in 2016 , maintaining the program ’ s status in the top 25 percent in the country .
• The first Hispanic kidney transplant program in the area was begun in 2016 to meet the growing number of Hispanic patients seeking evaluation and treatment at the Baylor Annette C . and Harold C . Simmons Transplant Institute .
• The desensitization program — aimed at enlarging the pool of available kidneys by treating recipients with anti-rejection therapy to allow them to accept any available matching kidney — saw significant growth in its services to patients on the wait list at Baylor Scott & White – Fort Worth and Baylor Dallas .
• A lead researcher on the Baylor Dallas kidney and pancreas transplant team co-authored an article in the New England Journal of Medicine about a three-year , international , randomized , single-blind , parallel-group study with an active control that looked at the impact of using belatacept-based immunosuppression compared to the traditional treatment with cyclosporinebased immunosuppression . The study showed the tremendous promise of belatacept with a 43 percent reduction in the risk of death or graft loss compared with the cyclosporine regimen .
• Approximately 90 percent of the pancreas transplants performed at Baylor are combined kidney-pancreas transplants ; pancreas alone transplants are rare , at only five to 10 percent . The wait time for this program averages a remarkable four months — eclipsing that of many Texas centers .
“ Our referral base grew in 2016 as we actively supported our outreach clinics in Amarillo and Lubbock ,” said Bernard Fischbach , MD , medical director of renal and pancreas transplantation . “ Because our focus is on the patient , our entire team traveled to these outreach clinics weekly . We evaluated patients , recommended appropriate treatments and followed them post-transplant in the clinic that is close to their home . This saved the patients from having to travel long distances for these services and it strengthened the bond of the kidney and pancreas transplant program with these communities by bringing the high standard of care of Baylor Scott & White Health to them where they lived .”
The kidney program at Baylor Scott & White – Fort Worth grew by 33 percent in 2016 . And , another transplant nephrologist joined the team , bringing the total number of physician specialists to seven .
“ One of the most exciting developments for the kidney and pancreas transplant program in 2016 was the launch of a long-term kidney donor follow-up clinical trial ,” explained Dr . Fischbach . “ It is the first study of its kind to look at the health and overall well-being of kidney donors 10 years post-donation . We will begin enrolling participants in 2017 , and our goal is to recruit 100 donors .”
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