Pediatric Transplant Services

In 1981, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh established the Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation — the first pediatric transplant program in the United States. UPMC Children’s Hospital has performed more than 3,900 pediatric transplants to date.

Since the program's inception, UPMC Children's has performed more pediatric transplants than any other center and has discovered new treatment methods to improve long-term survival and quality of life for pediatric transplant recipients.

Start Your Transplant Journey

What Are Pediatric Transplantation Services?

Pediatric transplantation involves replacing a diseased organ with a healthy organ from a living or deceased donor.

The transplant experts at UPMC Children’s have performed more than 3,200 pediatric transplants, including:

• Blood and marrow.
• Double-lung.
• Heart.
• Heart/lung.
• Intestine (small bowel).
• Kidney.
• Liver.
• Liver/kidney.
• Liver/intestine.
• Living-donor liver.
• Multiple-organ transplants.
• Pancreas.
• Single-lung.

What Conditions Do We Treat? 

We treat many types of serious illnesses, including:

• Cancer.
• Diabetes.
• Heart failure.
• Intestinal failure.
• Kidney failure.
• Liver failure.
• Lung disease.
• Maple syrup urine disease.

Who’s Eligible for Pediatric Transplantation?

Children ages 18 or younger with end-stage organ failure may be eligible for pediatric transplantation.

What Pediatric Transplantation Services Do We Offer? 

Our pediatric transplantation services include:

Pediatric liver transplant 

UPMC Children’s is a nationally recognized leader in pediatric liver transplant, having performed over 1,700 pediatric liver transplants — more than any other center in the country. UPMC Children’s leads the nation’s largest pediatric liver transplant network through its partnerships with the University of Virginia, Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C., and AdventHealth in Orlando, Fla.

Of the 29 centers in the United States performing pediatric living-donor liver transplant, UPMC Children’s hazard ratio estimates rank among the top in the nation in one-year patient-graft survival, as well as three-year patient-graft survival. 

As a leading, high-volume pediatric liver transplant center, we have the largest geographic draw of patients compared to other pediatric transplant centers in the country. We've also performed more transplants for patients with metabolic disease than any other center, including adult facilities.

Pediatric living-donor liver transplant

During a living-donor liver transplant, surgeons remove 20% to 25% of the liver from a healthy adult. They then transplant that part of the liver into the child to replace their unhealthy one.

The reason we can do living-donor liver transplants is because of the liver's unique ability to regenerate or grow back. In just a few months, a healthy adult donor's liver will return to its normal size.

We're one of the oldest and largest centers for pediatric living-donor liver transplantation, performing more total living-donor liver procedures than any other pediatric transplant center in the U.S. Our team provides medical, emotional, financial, social, and educational support throughout your child's journey.

Pediatric intestinal transplant

UPMC Children’s has performed more than 300 intestinal transplants since the program’s inception in 1990. The hospital has a high patient survival rate of 88% at three years post-transplant, well above the national average of 76%.

UPMC Children’s also hosts the biennial Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium (PIFRS) — the only international symposium dedicated to the treatment of children with intestinal disease/failure through rehabilitation and transplantation.

Pediatric kidney transplant

The kidney transplant program at UPMC Children's is one of the most active in the world. We performed our first pediatric kidney transplant in 1964. Since then, we've helped hundreds of children and teens in need of a new kidney.

UPMC was one of the first programs in the world to use tacrolimus as its primary immunosuppressive agent. This advancement enabled the program to achieve long-term patient and graft survival rates that are among the best in the world.

Types of kidney transplants we offer include:

• Deceased-donor kidney transplants.
• Liver/kidney transplants.
• Living-donor kidney transplants.
• Multivisceral/kidney transplants.

Our program also offers preemptive kidney transplant — meaning a child can receive a kidney transplant before they need dialysis.

Pediatric heart and lung transplant

Since performing the first pediatric heart transplant in 1982, UPMC Children's heart and lung transplant program has grown. We're one of the most active pediatric transplant centers in the world.

To date, the Heart Institute at UPMC Children's has helped more than 400 children in need of heart and lung transplants.

Our transplant teams at the Heart Institute perform:

• Double- and single-lung transplants.
• Heart-kidney transplants.
• Heart-liver transplants.
• Heart-lung transplants.

Pediatric bone marrow transplant

Our Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapies designs and tests transplant treatment plans for children with high-risk leukemia or lymphoma and life-threatening inherited disorders.

We're the only center in the world to offer tandem lung and bone marrow transplants for children and adults with immune deficiencies that have progressed to lung failure.

Transplanters at UPMC Children's perform the following types of bone marrow transplants:

• Allogeneic transplants — Related, unrelated, and mismatched related donors.
• Autologous (self-donor) transplants.
• Syngeneic (identical twin donor) transplants.
• Umbilical cord blood transplants.

What Can I Expect? 

UPMC Children’s provides a full range of pediatric transplantation resources — before and after transplant — for our patients and their families.

Supportive services

At UPMC Children's, we:

• Offer parent support groups during all stages of the pediatric transplant process. These groups give families the chance to learn from each other and prepare for their child's recovery and life after an organ transplant.
• Meet the personal needs of parents who spend large amounts of time in the hospital with their child. Sleeping rooms, showers, and a small laundry room are located in the hospital.
• Can arrange financial assistance for transplant patient parents and arrange affordable, nearby housing or hotels on an individual basis.

Research and clinical studies

As a nationally recognized research center, UPMC Children’s Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation participates in the latest clinical studies involving human volunteers.

Your transplant team

Your transplant team may include:

• Living donor coordinators — Guide living donors through all phases of the donation process. The living donor coordinator is your resource for all questions and concerns about living donation.
• Mental health counselors — Provide emotional and psychological support to children and families throughout the transplant process.
• Nurse practitioners — Work closely with doctors, nurses, and staff to extend the care provided by doctors. Nurse practitioners participate in the care of transplant candidates, recipients of transplants, and living donors.
• Pharmacists — Transplant pharmacists assist with medication management and medication education before and after transplant.
• Registered dietitians — Our registered dietitians provide patients with nutritional support to optimize their health before and after transplant.
• Research transplant coordinators — Transplant nurses who coordinate and oversee patients who participate in research protocols for studies and clinical trials.
• Specialty physicians — Diagnose, treat, and manage health conditions and organ failure.
• Transplant coordinators — Registered nurses who provide education and guidance before and after your transplant.
• Transplant financial coordinators — Look at your insurance coverage for transplant and medications after transplant. They may also be able to make recommendations for additional coverage to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses after transplant.
• Transplant social workers — Help you review your social, financial, and support systems to make sure that your transplant can be a successful experience. They will also be available after transplant to help you get the medicines you need and address other social concerns you may have.
• Transplant surgeons — Perform transplant surgeries.

Why Choose UPMC for Pediatric Transplant Care? 

When you choose UPMC for pediatric transplant care, you will receive:

• Access to experienced, board-certified specialists — Our pediatric transplantation experts have extensive experience and are dedicated to research and innovation.
• Best-in-class treatment and outcomes — The Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation has significantly improved surgical techniques, treatment, and patient survival, with survival rates that are among the highest in the world.
• Personalized pediatric transplant care — We provide a patient- and family-centered approach to care throughout the entire transplant process, from start to finish. Your dedicated transplant team will guide and support you each step of the way.

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By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.