MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU Medicine has received approval it can offer kidney transplants, making it West Virginia’s first and only fully functional multi-organ transplant center.
The United Network for Organ Sharing notified WVU Medicine in September of its approval to offer heart transplants.
“As the state’s leading academic medical center, we are charged with providing West Virginians and all we serve with the care they need,” said Dr. Michael Shullo, WVU Medicine associate vice president of transplant services. “By becoming the state’s first multi-organ transplant center, we are able to offer life-saving care to people who previously had to leave the state to find it.”
According to reports, there are at least 271 kidney transplant candidates living in West Virginia.
“I think this is really going to open the door for a lot of people that have given up on getting advanced care,” Shullo said. “I think it really changes the game for that population with kidney failure.”