Transplant Procedures

Established in 1981, UPMC's organ transplant program has performed more than 20,000 adult and pediatric organ transplant surgery procedures, including liver, kidney, kidney/pancreas, pancreas, intestine (small bowel), liver/intestine, heart, heart/lung, double-lung, single-lung, and multiple-organ transplants.

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Our transplant procedures include:

• Artificial heart device — A procedure to implant a temporary pump in your chest to replace your damaged heart while you wait for a heart transplant. The pump circulates blood to and from your heart and is controlled by a machine called a driver that is located outside your body.
• Heart transplant — A surgical procedure to replace your damaged or diseased heart with a healthy heart from a deceased donor.
• Heart-lung transplant — A dual-organ procedure that replaces your diseased lungs and heart with healthy organs from a deceased donor. Usually, both organs come from the same donor to reduce the risk of rejection and are transplanted during the same operation.
• Intestinal transplant — A lifesaving procedure for people who have intestinal failure. During the operation, a surgeon replaces your diseased or damaged intestine with an intestine from a deceased donor.
• Kidney transplant — A procedure to replace your diseased or damaged kidney with a healthy one from a deceased or living donor.
• Liver transplant — A procedure to replace your diseased liver with a healthy one from a deceased donor or a portion of a healthy adult’s liver (living-donor liver transplant). In living-donor transplants, the liver has the unique ability to regenerate, or grow back, in just a few months, leaving both the living donor and the recipient with fully functioning livers.
• Living-donor transplant – For patients needing a liver or kidney transplant, a living-donor transplant is a primary treatment option that can eliminate or shorten the wait for a deceased donor organ.
  • Living-donor kidney surgery — A procedure to remove one healthy kidney from a living donor and use it to replace the recipient’s diseased kidney. Living kidney donation of a single kidney is possible because, although you have two kidneys, you can live a completely healthy life with only one functioning kidney.
  • Living-donor liver surgery — A procedure to remove a portion of a healthy liver from a living donor and use it to replace a diseased liver in a transplant recipient.
• Lung transplant — A procedure to remove one or both diseased lungs and replace them with new, healthy ones.
• Pancreas transplant — A procedure to place a healthy pancreas from a deceased donor into your abdomen, providing a cure for diabetes.
• Pancreas-after-kidney transplant — Used to treat people who are diabetic after a kidney transplant to prevent any future damage to the new kidney. Surgeons transplant a healthy pancreas from a deceased donor into the recipient’s body following a successful kidney transplant.
• Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant — Treats people with kidney failure caused by type 1 and type 2 diabetes who need both a new kidney and a new pancreas. Surgeons transplant both the kidney and pancreas during one surgery, with both organs typically coming from the same deceased donor. In some cases, surgeons may use a kidney from a living donor and a pancreas from a deceased donor.
• Total pancreatectomy and auto-islet transplant — A treatment option for people with chronic pancreatitis (CP) that involves removing your entire pancreas and transplanting your own islets from your pancreas into your liver to reduce your risk of developing diabetes.
• Ventricular assist device (VAD) — A procedure to implant a VAD into your chest and connect it to machinery located outside your body. A VAD helps your heart pump blood to the rest of your body and treats end-stage heart failure.

Why Choose UPMC for Transplant Care? 

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

• Expert care from experienced providers — Established in 1981, UPMC's organ transplant program has performed more than 20,000 adult and pediatric organ transplants, including liver, kidney, kidney/pancreas, pancreas, intestine (small bowel), liver/intestine, heart, heart/lung, double-lung, single-lung, and multiple-organ transplants.
• Access to a multidisciplinary team — We partner with a range of medical specialists to deliver comprehensive care that considers the physical, financial, social, and emotional impact of having a transplant.
• Treatment for complex conditions — We are uniquely qualified to handle the most complex cases and use innovative matching techniques to help patients get off the waiting list more quickly. As a result, we can often accept cases that other centers have declined, helping people get the care they need.

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