In 1971, a small group of physicians decided that Hartford Hospital should offer organ transplantation to the residents of southern New England. Our first kidney transplant was performed on March 25, 1971. Robert Schweizer, MD and Stanley Bartus, MD were both involved in this historic surgery. As the technology and science of transplantation advanced, liver and heart transplantation programs were initiated in 1984. Today, the Transplant Program is under the direction of Dr. Patricia Sheiner.
 
Our goal at the Hartford Hospital Transplant Program is to provide the highest quality patient-centered care in a community setting. Our multidisciplinary approach to patient care utilizes the enormous talents and resources of a broad team. Our physicians, coordinators and nursing staff are all highly trained individuals with many years of experience in the transplant field providing pre-operative, peri-operative and post-transplant care.
 
The Transplant Program is certified by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). In addition, Hartford Hospital is a JCAHO accredited institution and associated with the UCONN Medical School Training Program.
 
The Transplant Program also has an on-site Histocompatibility Laboratory. Our Organ Procurement Organization (LifeChoice Donor Services) is located in Windsor, CT. Finally, all organ programs (kidney, heart and liver) are Medicare certified for transplantation.
 
New initiatives are constantly underway. Some of these include expanding the living donor pool, cryosurgery and associated technologies for liver cancer, increased public presence for our center, centers of excellence designation with third party payors and our laparoscopic and hand-assisted laparoscopic live kidney donation.