Overview
With one of the oldest and most successful solid organ transplant centers in the world, M Health Fairview Pediatrics is your first choice for your child’s second chance. Since the 1960s, when Minnesota’s first successful kidney transplants were performed at the University of Minnesota, our transplant center has conducted more than 13,000 transplants for patients of all ages, giving the gift of life to many in need.
Our pediatric transplant center is located within M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, a nationally recognized children’s hospital on a leading academic campus in Minneapolis. We’re proud to care for children and families in one of the nation’s top hospitals for kidney, liver, and heart transplants, as well as total pancreatectomy and islet auto-transplants (TP-IAT).
Our expert pediatric transplant surgeons, transplant physicians, nurses, care coordinators, social workers, and other members of our care teams are dedicated to improving and extending the lives of children with serious health needs. We are with your child and family every step of the way before and during the transplant procedure, and we can help manage your child’s health for years after the transplant to ensure long-term success so that you and your child can focus on everyday life.
We combine comprehensive care, the brightest medical minds, and the most caring hearts in a team approach with your child and your family at its center. Here, we never stop working to ensure we’re providing the best possible care, giving your child or adolescent an even stronger future.
Our approach
Solid organ transplants are a team effort involving dozens of medical specialists and – most importantly – your child and family. M Health Fairview Pediatrics offers specially trained support services staff who are here for children and families throughout the transplant process. In addition to transplant physicians and surgeons, our patient support services staff includes specialists in pediatric psychology, nutrition, social work, care coordination, spiritual support, and integrative therapy. From the day your child’s name joins the transplant list to well after your family is back at home after transplant, we’re by your side.
Expert transplant physicians, social workers, dietitians, and other specialists will help your child and family prepare for surgery, connecting you with education and resources for support. Care coordinators help you manage appointments, medications, and all the ins and outs of your child’s treatment plan. Our compassionate transplant surgeons will explain every step of the surgery process, so that you understand what needs to happen and when. We will continue monitoring and managing your child’s health in partnership with you for years after the transplant, educating your child and family so that you can take an active role in your child’s future.
M Health Fairview Pediatrics is also the only children’s health system in Minnesota with an extensive academic partnership with the University of Minnesota, which means our patients have access to leading-edge clinical trials and medical breakthroughs in devices, techniques, and technologies before they’re widely available. By offering breakthrough innovations and opportunities for advanced transplant surgery, we provide your child the best chance of long-term health.
An Extraordinary Legacy
Our transplant center has a decades-long legacy of excellence in patient care, surgical outcomes, research, and training. We've performed many first-in the-world and first-in-Minnesota transplants, including:
- Performing the world's first deceased-donor pancreas transplant (1966)
- Performing the world's first living-donor pancreas transplant (1979)
- Performing the world's first total pancreatectomy with islet cell auto-transplant (1977)
- Performing Minnesota's first adult heart (1978) and infant (1986) heart transplants
M Health Fairview Pediatrics is continuing that legacy of excellence and innovation in transplant surgery today, with a continuing commitment to outstanding pediatric transplant outcomes.
Kidney Transplants
- Over 1,000 pediatric kidney transplants performed
- We take on the most complex cases and strive to keep children off dialysis before transplant
Liver Transplants
- Adult-to-child, partial, full, and living-donor liver transplants
- Regional leader with over 1,500 procedures performed for children and adults
Total Pancreatectomy and Islet Auto-Transplants
- Performed over 800 TP-IAT procedures for children and adults
- Largest TP-IAT program in the world
Heart Transplants
- Minnesota’s oldest and most successful pediatric heart transplantation program
- Pediatric heart transplants have been performed since 1986
- Over 1,000 heart transplants have been conducted, with more than 150 in children
- First pediatric hospital in the Twin Cities to implant the HeartWare HVAD