Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, 5000 5th Ave, Hines, IL 60141
Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Kidney Transplant Program completed its 100th transplant on Dec. 22, 2022.
The 73-year-old U.S. Air Force Veteran from Peoria, Illinois, has been on the kidney transplant waitlist at a non-VA transplant center since 2018. In March 2022, he was evaluated at the Hines VA’s Transplant Program and was able to receive a transplant nine months later.
VA transplant centers allow Veterans to dual list with non-VA transplant centers. Wait-time accumulated at a non-VA kidney transplant center can be transferred to another hospital (such as Hines), which may expedite transplantation.
Hines VA, located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago, began offering kidney transplants in Nov. 2019, becoming the eighth VA Kidney Transplant Program in the country. In 2021, it completed 36 kidney transplants, the most of any VA transplant center that year.
On June 16, 2022, Hines VA completed its first living donor kidney transplant. The program completed three living donor transplants and 62 total transplants in 2022.
“As transplant is truly a team effort, our transplant team consisting of our surgeons (Dr. Lopez-Soler, Dr.Luis Fernandez, and Dr. Oswaldo Aguirre) our nephrologist (Dr. Manpreet Samra) our nurse practitioners (Christine Trotter, Diane Mattes), transplant coordinator (Jeff Sorenson) pharmacist (Anne Thorndyke), social worker ( Sarah Adam), dieticians (Cassie Cederberg, Erin Prendergast, Madison Snediker, Danielle Repika) and psychologist
(Dr. Mary Kirschner, Dr. Hailey Billings) have worked incredibly hard to lead our program to the busiest program in the VA system. In addition, support we have received from Hines Leadership and all the departments in the hospital has made a huge contribution to our success.”“The growth of the program has really exceeded all of our expectations,” said Dr. Geraldine Zingraf, program administrator. “Last year, we completed 36 transplants, and this year we nearly doubled that number. With the addition of the living donor program, we are so happy that we are providing a high quality, much-needed service for the Veterans that have come to see us from across the nation.”
Learn more about VA’s transplant programs at www.VA.gov/Health/Services/Transplant.
