Pediatric Organ Transplantation Program

We're ranked in the top 1% of all hospitals in the nation for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, pediatric nephrology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, and among the best children’s hospitals in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report, and are an international referral site for the most complex pediatric transplant cases. Home to one of the world’s first pediatric transplant programs and the first pediatric renal dialysis center, the Pediatric Transplantation Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein (CHAM) is an internationally recognized leader in the field of pediatric solid organ transplantation. Our pediatric transplant outcomes are among the best in the nation, exceeding national standards.

Our expertise in complex pediatric liver disease includes transplantation in infants less than one year old. We were among the first in the Northeast to use MARS liver dialysis technology and are today still one of the only hospitals in the Northeast using it. We provide expanded criteria for donors with medical complexities, viral hepatitis and HIV, split and domino liver transplantation, paired donor exchange for live organ donation, and innovative desensitization programs for patients with high antibody levels and incompatible blood types.

Our elite team of pediatric transplant experts includes surgeons fellowship-trained in advanced pediatric organ transplantation, hepatologists, nephrologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, medical and surgical oncologists, gastroenterologists, transplant immunologists, transplant anesthesiologists, radiologists, pathologists, geneticists, virologists, critical care specialists, psychiatrists, nutritionists, physical and occupational therapists, and dedicated transplant coordinators.

Our pediatric transplant outcome results are among the best in the nation with 100% three-year survival of pediatric live donor liver transplant recipients and 100% three-year survival of pediatric heart transplant recipients. We specialize in multi-organ transplant procedures with 100% one-year survival of pediatric Kidney-Liver transplant recipients. In New York State, we are number one to get a deceased donor pediatric kidney transplant faster and have the highest survival on the liver transplant waitlist.

Our Pediatric Heart Transplant Program is at the forefront of treating children with advanced heart failure with expertise in using artificial heart technology and transplantation. After receiving our heart transplant designation nearly twenty-five years ago, we successfully performed the first pediatric heart transplant in the Bronx ten years later. Our multi-disciplinary team of transplant specialists include transplant surgeons, cardiologists, infectious disease specialists, pediatricians and immunologists who are authorities in using immunosuppressive medications to prevent transplant rejection, while minimizing infection and drug toxicities, and have specialized expertise in heart transplantation and the use of mechanical assist devices, such as ECMO or the Berlin Heart, to support the circulation for children with heart failure. 

Our team specialists are also thought leaders in heart failure and transplantation, participating in national multicenter children's cardiac research and holding leadership positions in the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study Group, the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry, the Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation in Pediatrics Heart Transplant study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation.

An internationally recognized leader and pioneer in childhood kidney transplantation, the Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein (CHAM) was established after we performed one of the world’s first pediatric kidney transplants more than 50 years ago. Since then, our elite multi-disciplinary team has actively contributed to research and innovation, employing the latest advancements to provide the highest quality care and enable young patients with chronic and end-stage renal disease to live a better life, free from dialysis. We treat patients ranging from newborns to 22 years old, referred by doctors from around the world.

Our Pediatric Liver Transplantation Program is one of the largest and most successful liver transplant programs in the Northeast. As part of a special network of the best pediatric transplant centers in the United States and Canada, called The Studies of Pediatric Liver Transplant (SPLIT), we are committed to using research to improve outcomes for pediatric liver transplant patients. Depending on the child’s age and the nature and progression of their illness, our experts offer a variety of treatment options from medications to liver transplantation from deceased or living donors. Our elite multi-disciplinary team of world-renowned transplant specialists is dedicated to providing advanced, compassionate care for each individual child as they prepare for, undergo and recover from transplantation. 

Our robust living donor program offers a way for individuals to get a lifesaving transplant sooner. Family, friends and anonymous living donors participate in the program, reducing the wait time for transplantation in matched recipients. Live donor transplant success rates have been shown to be equivalent to deceased donor transplant success rates. At Montefiore Einstein, we are among the best in the nation with three-year liver transplant survival rates of 100% for both pediatric and adult recipients of live donor liver transplants.

For our patients in need of a kidney or liver transplant, we created the first-of-its-kind revolutionary I Want to Live Digital Tool which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and video to tell their story of why they want to live. This proprietary tool offers a completely novel and unique approach to helping those who need a transplant overcome the hurdle of asking for help and reaching potential donors.

See stories of some of our patients in need of a life-saving liver or kidney 

The Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation provides a number of resources to help, educate and support your child and family through the entire transplant process, including a dedicated transplant coordinator to help you navigate each step of your journey before, during and after surgery.

Our Helping Hands Program, a resource network of doctors, nurses, nutritionists, social workers and administrators, helps people navigate and better manage their health and lives as they go through the transplantation process, and complements state-of-the-art medicine with holistic approaches to improve quality of life for patients, families, and caregivers.

Our transplant researchers have made substantial contributions to the field of solid organ transplantation since performing one of the world’s first pediatric kidney transplants. Our physician-scientists are thought leaders in heart, lung, kidney and liver failure and transplantation, participating in multicenter children's research and clinical trials and have contributed scholarly work in numerous textbooks and medical journals. We receive substantial funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to analyze the genesis of various kidney, liver, lung and heart diseases and develop advancements in the field. Active research programs at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation provide access to the latest treatments and surgical protocols. We are spearheading and conducting clinical trials to better understand chronic heart, lung, kidney and liver diseases, and their prevention, in children.