The UAB Kidney Transplant Program is widely recognized for its contributions to the field, including major advances in immunosuppression protocols, research, technology and surgical techniques. We have a streamlined transplant evaluation process and continue to expand the transplant team to help meet the demands of the roughly 1,500 candidates on our kidney waiting list.

The Outcomes Research Center at the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute supports a broad range of health services research projects aimed at improving outcomes for kidney transplant recipients and living donors. This research focuses on novel risk prediction tools capable of accurately identifying pre-donation risk factors associated with the development of post-donation comorbidities.

Additional research within the UAB Kidney Transplant Program seeks to improve long-term health outcomes after living kidney donations, particularly among African-Americans, and optimize the integration of HIV-positive kidneys into transplantation. Our commitment to kidney transplant research is evidenced by participation in multiple research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, as well as private industry.

However, despite these extraordinary efforts, the demand for donor kidneys continues to outpace the supply. UAB hopes to overcome this challenge through our groundbreaking Xenotransplantation Program, which was launched in 2016 with a $19.5 million, five-year grant from United Therapeutics Corp. Within the next few years, UAB expects to conduct the first clinical trial focused on cross-species (pig-to-human) kidney transplants.