Trinity Health Grand Rapids Kidney Transplant Center Completes 3,000th Kidney Transplant

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (March 7, 2024) – Trinity Health Grand Rapids Kidney Transplant Center, the only adult kidney transplant center in West Michigan, reached a significant milestone: 3,000 kidney transplants.

The 3,000^th transplant took place on Saturday, February 10, 2024. The recipient of the kidney, 40-year-old Jennifer Lamange from Grand Rapids, is recovering as expected and feeling well.

Trinity Health Grand Rapids Kidney Transplant Center completed its first kidney transplant in January 1973, marking more than fifty years of kidney transplant care in West Michigan. The program has seen continued growth over the last five decades, completing on average 90-100 kidney transplants annually.

Kelly Summers, clinical services manager of the Kidney Transplant Center shared, “We are thrilled to make this incredible milestone! But we certainly could not have done it without our team of multidisciplinary partners, both inpatient and outpatient, who help to care for our transplant recipients and donors. We look forward to continuing to serve Grand Rapids and West Michigan for years to come.”

Kidney transplant is a life-saving treatment option for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) — the other treatment option being dialysis. There are currently more than 2,400 patients in Michigan awaiting a life-saving organ, with 82% of those awaiting a kidney. Trinity Health Grand Rapids Kidney Transplant Center has approximately 300 patients on the national waiting list. It is the only adult kidney transplant program in the state to partner with the National Kidney Registry (NKR), which offers more options for hard-to-match patients and donors. According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), the center’s patient survival rates are among the best in the nation.

Kidney transplant in made possible through organ donation. There are two types of kidney transplant: living donor and deceased donor. Most people are born with two kidneys, while one is enough to live normally. With living kidney donation, a healthy person agrees to have surgery to remove one of their kidneys, which will be transplanted into the patient. For the recipient, a living kidney donation is the greatest chance to live a long, healthy life. Kidneys from living donors typically last 15 to 20 years.

Living kidney donation can be done in three ways. A directed donation occurs when a kidney donor knows their recipient and has stated they want to donate directly to that person. The donor must be compatible blood types for this type of donation. A living kidney paired exchange is a program that allows a living kidney donor to donate their kidney to a recipient they do not know in exchange for a compatible or better matched kidney for their original recipient. This allows the opportunity for incompatible pairs to still receive a living kidney transplant. A living kidney donor can also donate anonymously. This often occurs when the donor does not know anyone who needs a kidney transplant but wants to donate a kidney simply to help another person.

You can learn more about becoming a living kidney donor through the Trinity Health Grand Rapids Kidney Transplant Center.

The other type of kidney transplant is from a deceased donor. A deceased donor is someone who has recently died, but had previously registered with the Michigan Organ Donor Registry to donate their organs upon their death. Organ donation is one of the most selfless acts possible, and gives hope to those on the transplant waiting list. Because deceased organ donors have agreed to donate other organs in addition to their kidneys, each organ donor can save up to eight lives.

The national average wait time for a deceased kidney donation is three to five years. Kidneys from a deceased donor typically last 10 to 15 years. More information about organ donation and registering as an organ donor is available through Gift of Life Michigan.

To learn more about the Trinity Health Grand Rapids Kidney Transplant Center, visit www.TrinityHealthMichigan.org/KidneyTransplant.