Banner Good Samaritan conducts milestone 300th liver transplant
Arizona’s busiest liver transplant program also site of state’s first transplant in 1983
PHOENIX (July 2, 2007) – On Thursday, June 28, transplant surgeons Jeff Brink, M.D.; James Cashman, M.D.; and Lawrence Koep, M.D.; performed the 300th liver transplant at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Arizona’s leading provider of organ transplant services.
Arizona’s first organ transplant – a kidney transplant – was performed at Banner Good Samaritan in 1969. Since then, more than 2,600 kidney transplants have occurred here. Likewise, Dr. Koep, a nationally renowned transplant pioneer who continues to be an active member of the transplant surgical team, performed the state’s first liver transplant at Banner Good Samaritan in 1983. In 1985, the hospital opened the nation’s fifth liver transplant program.
Thursday’s transplant was the 30th liver transplant performed at Banner Good Samaritan this year, putting the hospital on pace for 60 transplants this year. Surgeons performed 44 liver transplants in 2006, a record number for the hospital in a calendar year.
“We’re extremely pleased that we’ve been able to help so many patients and their families over the years,” said Dr. Cashman, Surgical Director of Liver Transplantation. “The transplant team we have here – from pre-operative management and counseling to surgery to post-operative checkups and support – is just incredible. Everyone is busy, yet everyone works well together. Liver transplantation is a team endeavor, and I don’t know of a better team in the nation.”
Liver transplant support services at Banner Good Samaritan start with the Liver Disease Center, headed by Richard Manch, M.D., and joined by hepatologists Mark Wong, M.D.; Ester Little, M.D.; Alberto Ramos, M.D.; and Geetha Kolli, M.D.; and care providers Ann Moore, NP; and Kaya Fox, PA. Physicians from the Liver Disease Center treat patients suffering from disease such as hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. They also conduct clinics at hospitals and community clinics around the state, working with local physicians to provide their patients with the latest care for various liver conditions.
“The Liver Disease Center is a unique community resource for the diagnosis and treatment of all liver diseases, including Hepatitis B and C,” said Dr. Manch, Medical Director of Liver Transplantation and Director of the Liver Disease Center.
Since 2000, Banner Good Samaritan has performed 206 liver transplants with excellent outcomes. According to data collected by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (administered by the University Renal Research and Education Association with the University of Michigan), graft and patient survival for liver transplants at one month, one year and three years are better than expected and better than national survival. For the most recent reporting period of July 1, 2003-December 31, 2005, Banner Good Samaritan’s one-year patient survival for 77 procedures was 91.42 percent while the national expected adult patient survival rate was 85.68 percent. The average length of stay is also less than both the regional and national averages.
“The SRTR reports are released every six months,” said Eileen Polito, director of Transplant Services. “These are the same type of numbers we have seen over the past few reporting periods, which means Banner Good Samaritan is among the best hospitals for positive liver transplant outcomes in a region that has some of the most renowned transplant programs in the nation.”
Banner Good Samaritan Transplant Services include transplant surgeries and extensive support services. In addition to liver and kidney transplants, surgeons also perform kidney/pancreas and pancreas transplants at the hospital. Living donor transplants are performed for both kidney and liver procedures. Banner Good Samaritan Transplant Services has also taken a leading role in developing new methods of kidney transplants, such as anonymous donor (first in 2004) and matched-pair donations (first in 2006).
“We’re proud that we can fully support the medical needs of our patients and provide services that meet their emotional, social and spiritual needs,” Transplant Services Medical Director Alfredo Fabrega, M.D., said. "Banner Good Samaritan Transplant Services has a large experienced team of coordinators, social workers, nutritionists and support personnel who work together to ensure a positive experience for all patients and referring physicians.
“It’s also important to recognize the efforts and our partnership with the Donor Network of Arizona (DNAZ). They are working with people in difficult situations and helping them to understand how the gift of life may bring meaning into their tragic loss,” added Dr. Fabrega.
Banner Health works in partnership with DNAZ to increase organ donation efforts through programs like the Banner Health Donor Team that attracted more than 1,500 new donors in Arizona. For more information on becoming an organ donor, please visit www.BannerHealth.com, keyword “Donor Team.”
In 2005, Banner Good Samaritan was one of four Phoenix hospitals to receive one of the inaugural Organ Donation Medals of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administrations. The medal was presented to Banner Good Samaritan for achieving life-saving organ donation rates of 75 percent or more for a sustained 12-month period.
Located in downtown Phoenix, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center has been providing medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. Banner Good Samaritan is owned and operated by Phoenix-based Banner Health, a nonprofit organization. The hospital was named to U.S.News & World Report’s "America’s Best Hospitals" report in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heart Care and Surgery, Kidney Disease and Urology. It has also been recognized as a Magnet facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the highest honor a hospital can earn for its nursing care.
###
