Your well being is important to us, as are the concerns of your family and referring physician. As a potential patient at the Alabama Transplant Center at UAB, we want to be sure that none of your questions go unanswered.
If you require surgery, we will keep you and your family informed of your progress at each stage. Your family doctor will be thoroughly updated on your condition, as his or her role upon your return home is highly valued.
Already renowned for its groundbreaking programs in transplantation,
immunosuppressive drug research, and extensive databases connected with
centers across the country, UAB Transplant Center continues to strive for
excellence in patient care. Whether you are from Birmingham or from the
other side of the globe, we will deliver world-class treatment.
To consult a specific transplant program, call:
Physicians anywhere in the United States can all 1-800-UAB-MIST (1-800-822-6478), (24 hours a day, seven days a week) to reach the appropriate UAB specialist to discuss transplantation options and any medical problems.
The UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, has been a leader in organ transplantation since 1968 when the first kidney transplant was performed. The program has grown steadily since that time. It now includes heart, heart-lung, lung, liver, pancreas and bone marrow transplants. The Alabama Organ Center provides donor organs and tissue to the Alabama Transplant Center and the Alabama Tissue Center.
Successful clinical cardiac transplantation in the southeastern
United States began at UAB in 1981. Through December 31, 1995, 418 heart
and 13 heart-lung transplants have been performed at UAB.
In general, any patient age 65 or less (physiologic age)
with end-stage cardiac disease should be considered for cardiac transplantation.
If you are referred to UAB for cardiac transplantation, you will probably undergo a screening clinic visit. This evaluation checks for obvious problems that would allow other therapies for cardiac disease other than transplantation. After this visit, you will undergo comprehensive evaluation, more than likely on an outpatient basis. You will also receive extensive education on the rigors and demands of post-transplant life.
After transplantation, you will remain in the hospital
for less than two weeks; however, you will need to remain in the Birmingham
area for eight to nine weeks for close outpatient follow-up.
Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Critical
Care Transport service will transfer you safely and effectively to UAB
whether you live in the United States or abroad. The team, including a
physician, registered nurse, and respiratory therapist, will care for you
from bedside to bedside while maintaining an intensive care environment.
The jet aircraft and transport vans are specially configured, fully functional
intensive care units.
The UAB TownHouse, located on University Boulevard at 20th Street, offers convenient, comfortable lodging for you and your family on a daily or monthly basis. You will be just two blocks from the hospital and clinic which will enable close follow-up care on an outpatient basis. Accomodations include:
For information and reservations, call (205) 324-8608.
In an attempt to increase the supply of available organs,
the Alabama Organ Center (AOC) was developed in January 1979. The AOC,
approved by the Health Care Financing Administration and the United Network
for Organ Sharing (UNOS), has been designated by these organizations to
provide organ and tissue for the entire state of Alabama and selected bordering
cities. Through the UNOS national computer sharing network, organs for
transplant from the United States and Canada may be referred to the AOC.
The AOC has teams on call 24 hours a day for organ and tissue donor retrieval.
In response to a growing demand for more transplant-ready
tissue, the Alabama Tissue Center was created to preserve, process and
distribute tissues. During 1995, the ATC procured tissue from 128 donors.
It is an accredited member of the American Association of Tissue Banks
and the Southeastern Organ Donor Procurement Foundation.
Family members who wish to be tested as possible donors and who live outside the Birmingham area do not need to travel to UAB for histocompatibility testing. If the names and daytime phone numbers of these individuals are provided, the laboratory can arrange to have the blood collected in the town or city where the family members live and shipped to the lab for testing.
If your name is added to the cadaver organ waiting list,
a blood sample will be collected from you each month and mailed to the
histocompatibility lab. This ensures quick blood typing in the event that
we obtain an organ for you.
Organ donation can be considered the ultimate gift and a sign of human solidarity. A single donor can provide kidneys to two dialysis patients with renal failure, a liver to a patient suffering from liver failure, a pancreas to a diabetic, a heart to a terminal cardiac patient, and lungs to two patients with pulmonary failure.
The same donor can also provide bone and fascia for patients requiring plastic, neurosurgical, and orthopedic reconstruction, and corneas for those with vision impairments.
Transplantation as it is currently practiced is not possible
without the availability of cadaveric organs and tissues. Today and in
the future, organ and tissue transplantation will continue to be limited
unless cadaveric organ donation can be increased.
Please encourage your friends and families to sign their
driver's licenses to indicate their wish to be donors.