PITTSBURGH, Penn. - June 2, 2006 - Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has received congressional recognition as the world's premiere center for pediatric transplantation for the past 25 years, longer than any other center in the world.
Introduced by Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), the acknowledgment was officially made a part of the congressional record last week, commemorating Children's for 25 years of service and for the establishment of the nation's first pediatric transplantation center.
In the 25 years since establishing the first pediatric transplant center under the guidance of transplant pioneer Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., Ph.D., Children's Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation has performed more than 2,200 transplant and today is a leader in developing strategies to manage organ rejection. Transplant surgeons offer a regimen of anti-rejection drugs that not only protects the transplanted organ, but in many cases allows surgeons to wean young patients from steroids soon after surgery.
"Doctors and researchers in Pittsburgh have continued to dedicate their life's work to helping advance pediatric transplantation. Over the years, surgeons have improved surgical techniques and recovery strategies to offer children far-reaching opportunities for long-term survival with a strong quality of life," said George Mazariegos, M.D., director, Pediatric Transplantation at Children's.
From the first and most successful series of small intestine transplants to the landmark work of challenging pediatric multi-organ transplants, Children's continually achieves milestones in the operating room and laboratory.
As one of the leading pediatric transplant centers in the world, Children's performs more kinds of organ and tissue transplants in children than does any other center in the United States including: heart, heart-lung, heart-liver, lung, double-lung, liver, split-liver, living-related liver, heart-lung-liver, liver-kidney, li
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Contact: Melanie Finnigan or Marc Lukasiak
Marc.Lukasiak@chp.edu
412-692-5016
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
2-Jun-2006