Massachusetts General Hospital | MassGeneral Hospital for Children

Donate Life

The Transplant Center is an advocate for organ and tissue donation and is finding new ways to give patients a second chance at life. Learn how you can sign up to be an organ and tissue donor

The Pediatric Transplant Program at MassGeneral Hospital for Children is a major referral center for organ transplants for children. Our surgeons and transplant teams are at the forefront of pediatric organ transplantation and work to ensure optimal treatment before, during and after transplant. Our multidisciplinary approach ensures the optimal care for our patients and gives them the benefit of more than 40 years of experience in transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Our program is uniquely equipped to facilitate parent-to-child donation, with adjacent operating space and adult and pediatric operating teams.

As part of the Massachusetts General Hospital Transplant Center, we are also uniquely suited to provide seamless continuity of care from pediatric through adolescent and adult care.

The Mass General Transplant Center offers leading-edge consultative services, treatment and surgical interventions to patients with a broad spectrum of diseases requiring heart, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas, islet, hematopoietic stem cell and multiple organ transplants. The pediatric program currently provides several of these and will be expanding in the future.

An innovator in the transplant field for nearly three decades, the Mass General Transplant Center has developed life-saving techniques that have revolutionized transplant medicine for patients around the globe. Major transplant milestones include:

• World’s first successful tolerance induction in mismatched renal recipients
• World’s first clinical use of a monoclonal antibody used in the prevention and treatment of graft rejection
• First regional lung transplant program for Medicare
• New England’s first live donor lung transplant program

Surgeons at Mass General performed New England’s first successful:

• Pancreas transplant
• Liver transplant
• Small bowel transplant
• Combined liver/heart transplant

Standard-Setting Research and Care

As part of the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, our research focuses on developing new breakthrough treatments and techniques that offer excellent clinical outcomes for patients, including:

• Innovative treatments of immunosuppression, to reduce the likelihood of acute organ rejection
• Novel approaches to avoid immunosuppression through tolerance induction, allowing kidney transplant recipients to live drug-free after their transplantations
• Pioneering and effective approaches to the prevention of infectious disease in transplantation

The quality of our patient care is also enhanced by:

• Our commitment to developing leading-edge technology
• The development of minimally invasive transplantation innovations: The Transplant Center is one of the few in the region to offer transplantation of healthy islet cells into type I diabetes patients who are not candidates for a full pancreas transplant
• Our dedication to identifying and utilizing available organs

Emphasis on Teaching and Research

A Harvard Medical School teaching institution, we are training the next generations of transplant specialists in all areas of medicine and surgery, bringing fresh perspectives to the care of our patients and improving the care of transplant recipients worldwide. Our unique portfolio of basic and clinical research, education and clinical expertise benefits each patient receiving care at the Transplant Center.

Expert Staff

At MassGeneral Hospital for Children, your child will be cared for by a team of specialists expert in pediatric transplantation, including pioneers in the field.

Our multidiscliplinary staff includes:

• Transplant surgeons
• Infectious disease specialists
• Nephrologists
• Gastroenterologists/hepatologists
• Pediatric urologists and surgeons
• Psychiatrists
• Nurses
• Social workers
• Case managers
• Nutritionists

Family-Centered Care

At MassGeneral Hospital for Children, we know that the time of your child's diagnosis and treatment is a very stressful one and we strive to provide an open, welcoming environment. We believe that no one knows a child as well as the parent does: parents, along with primary care providers, become our partners in a child's care and have an active voice in all treatment plans.

Biliary Atresia

Biliary atresia is a chronic, progressive liver problem that becomes evident shortly after birth.

Biliary Cirrhosis / Bile Duct Cancer

Biliary cirrhosis is a rare form of liver cirrhosis, caused by disease or defects of the bile ducts.

Chronic Liver Disease / Cirrhosis

Chronic liver disease is marked by the gradual destruction of liver tissue over time. Several liver diseases fall under this category, including cirrhosis of the liver and fibrosis of the liver.

Congenital Liver Defects

Congenital liver defects are rare liver diseases present at birth such as biliary atresia, when the bile ducts are absent or have developed abnormally, and choledochal cyst, a malformation of the hepatic duct that can obstruct flow of bile in infants.

Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. CF causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that leads to progressive lung infection and difficulty gaining weight.

Drug-Induced Hepatitis

Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction. Drug-induced hepatitis is rare and is caused by toxic exposure to certain medications, vitamins, herbal remedies, or food supplements.

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)

Renal failure refers to temporary or permanent damage to the kidneys that results in loss of normal kidney function.

Glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis is a type of glomerular kidney disease in which the kidneys' filters become inflamed and scarred, and slowly lose their ability to remove wastes and excess fluid from the blood to make urine.

Glomerulosclerosis

Glomerulosclerosis is the term used to describe scarring that occurs within the kidneys in the small balls of tiny blood vessels called the glomeruli.

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a rare condition that mostly affects children under the age of 10. It is often characterized by damage to the lining of blood vessel walls, destruction of red blood cells, and kidney failure.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a blood-borne microorganism transmitted by exposure to the hepatitis B virus through infectious body fluids.

Jaundice (Hyperbilirubinemia)

Over half of all newborns develop some amount of jaundice, a yellow coloring in their skin, during the first week. This is usually a temporary condition, but may be a more serious sign of another illness.

Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer begins in the kidneys - two large, bean-shaped organs - one located to the left, and the other to the right of the backbone.

Nephrotic Syndrome

Nephrotic syndrome is a condition often characterized by the following: very high levels of protein in the urine, low levels of protein in the blood, swelling, especially around the eyes, feet, and hands, as well as high cholesterol.

Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in men and women in the US. Pancreatic cancer occurs when malignant cells grow out of control.

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas. The inflammation may be sudden (acute) or ongoing (chronic).

Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of numerous cysts filled with fluid in the kidneys.

The following related clinical trials and research studies are currently seeking participants at Massachusetts General Hospital. Search for clinical trials and studies in another area of interest.

Overcoming chronic kidney disease

When 14-year-old Kassie Holmes was faced with going back on dialysis or receiving a kidney transplant, Avram Traum, MD, recommended a transplant regiment that did not include steroids.

Andrew Johnson Bounces Back After Kidney Transplant

Toddler Andrew Johnson is thriving since receiving his mother’s kidney in a transplant at MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

MGHfC Transplant Surgery

Phone: 617-724-1218
Fax: 617-726-2167
Hours: 8:30 am -5:00 pm Monday to Friday

Public Transportation Access: yes
Disabled Access: yes

To schedule an appointment with a MassGeneral for Children pediatric specialist, please call 888-644-3248 or complete our online appointment form to request an appointment.

Physicians may call 888-644-3211 or use the online referral form and the Access & New Appointment Center will call your patient within 1 business day.