The Rapid Development of Solid Organ Transplantation in North Carolina

Abstract

The first successful solid organ transplant between two individuals occurred in Boston in 1954 involving a living-related kidney transplant between twin brothers. The ensuing three decades were filled with dramatic stories of basic science and clinical research resulting in the successful performance of transplants, mostly with cadaver (brain dead) donors, involving the liver, pancreas, heart, heart-lung, and finally isolated lungs. Despite these successes, the overall survivals were largely measured in months and the procedures were only available in a select few transplant facilities. Clinical transplantation did not become a reliable therapy until the work to develop effective immunosuppressant medications resulted in the release of Cyclosporine in 1982. Thereafter, an explosion of activity occurred, with transplant centers opening at many major academic medical centers across the country. The clinical results achieved led transplantation to become standard therapy for endorgan disease of the organs noted above. At the present time, there are 260 transplant centers in the United States, which encompass a total of 835 individual transplant programs (Table 1).