Our Kidney Transplant Program is one of the oldest and most successful transplant programs in the world. Since 1963, University of Minnesota Physicians have influenced kidney disease treatment and kidney transplantation worldwide. More than 1,000 children have received a kidney transplant at University of Minnesota -- the single largest number of pediatric kidney transplants in the world. We also have the largest living donor kidney program in the country, increasing the chances that a child will receive a life-saving kidney. In 2010, U.S. News and World Report has ranked our kidney care program for children among the top 10 in the country.

Highest infant kidney transplant success rate in the world 
In the 1970s, the University of Minnesota became the first program in the country to develop successful strategies for long-term hemodialysis and kidney transplants in infants and very young children. Today, the pediatric kidney transplant program at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital has the highest reported infant kidney transplant success rate in the world. Our surgeons have performed 10 kidney transplants in children under the age of 2 since 2007. Our depth of experience allows us to take on the most complex cases -- including children who may have been turned down for treatment at other centers.

The kidney transplant doctors at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital have found that it pays off to transplant babies sooner rather than later. It improves growth parameters, not only in height and weight, but also head circumference, which impacts brain development. After transplant, babies start picking up milestones quickly. Our pediatric nephrologists, urologists and surgeons have more than 30 years of experience with very young children.  Together, they are able to prepare infants for a safer elective transplant when the child is ready, rather than as an emergency procedure. 

Serving children from both near and far
More than one-third of our kidney transplant patients come to University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital from distant areas in the United States, as well as other countries. We have long-time experience working with families and their referring doctors after they return home -- no matter where they live. We welcome complex cases that may have been turned down by other centers.