Transplant services

Kidney transplantation

A kidney transplant is the most effective treatment for many patients with progressive chronic kidney disease or those who have already become dialysis dependent. We expect to perform about 200 kidney transplants in 2020-21. Most patients are from the East of England, but we are happy to see patients from throughout the UK.

Highlights

• Addenbrooke’s has the shortest waiting time (from listing to receiving a transplant) in the UK
• Patient survival and kidney survival following transplantation are amongst the best in the UK - Addenbrooke’s patients have the highest 5-year graft survival of all UK transplant units (91%).
• Highly active deceased donor kidney programme with access to pre-transplant biopsies of donor kidneys (to ensure good quality organs) and innovations in organ perfusion and preservation (to minimize damage to the kidney before transplantation).
• Active living donor kidney transplant programme, with fully laparoscopic (minimally invasive, or ‘keyhole’) donor nephrectomy.
• ABO blood group incompatible transplants
• High immunologic risk transplants. We offer individualized immunologic assessment, personalized immunosuppression, and a fully integrated approach for ‘hard to transplant’ patients including deceased donor listing, participation in the UK living donor kidney sharing scheme, and carefully selected HLA antibody incompatible transplants.

Contacts and referrals

Referrals from our partner hospitals in the East of England are made to each unit’s designated transplant coordinator.

Referrals from other units are welcome and should be made to Dr Nicholas Torpey, Consultant Nephrologist, Box 118, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ.

Email the transplant admin team

Phone: 01223 348031

Pancreas transplantation

Addenbrooke’s is one of 8 pancreas transplant centres in the UK. Almost all pancreas transplants are performed as combined pancreas and kidney transplants for patients with diabetes and associated kidney disease. We expect to perform about 30 pancreas transplants in 2020-21. The Cambridge programme serves the East of England and East Midlands, but encourages referrals from outside this area.

Highlights

• Patients transplanted at Addenbrooke’s have the shortest waiting time (from listing to receiving a transplant) in the UK
• Both patient survival and pancreas survival following transplantation are amongst the best in the UK - Addenbrooke’s patients have the highest 5-year pancreas graft survival of all UK transplant units (90%), and the highest patient survival 1, 5 and 10 years from listing.
• Dedicated weekly pancreas transplant assessment clinic at Addenbrooke’s.

Contacts and referrals

Email the transplant admin team

Phone: 01223 216536

Liver transplantation

Liver transplantation is performed for patients with either acute or chronic liver disease. Addenbrooke’s is one of 7 liver transplant units in the UK and receives referrals from throughout the East of England and from Nottingham, Oxford and Southampton. Assessment and follow-up clinics are performed at all of these centres. We expect to perform over 100 liver transplants in 2020-21.

Highlights

• Rapid out-patient and in-patient assessment pathway
• Follow-up (both for waitlisted patients and post-transplant patients) performed at referring centres in conjunction with the local hepatology team
• Median waiting time from listing to transplant <100 days
• Highest 5-year patient survival (88.1%) of all UK liver units
• World leading use of novel perfusion technology to assess and optimize donor livers before transplantation

Contacts and referrals

Email the transplant admin team

Phone: 01223 216672

Intestinal and Multi-visceral transplantation

Intestinal transplantation is primarily performed for patients with intestinal failure for whom artificial nutritional support is no longer practical. Addenbrooke’s is one of 2 centres in the UK to perform adult intestinal transplants and the only UK centre to perform full multi-visceral transplants (intestine with liver/pancreas and sometimes a kidney). We are currently the highest volume adult intestinal transplant unit in Europe. An essential part of the service is early assessment of patients before significant liver disease has developed (thus avoiding a complex multi-organ transplant)

Highlights

• Excellent 5 year patient survival following isolated intestinal transplant (80%)
• Out-reach clinics at intestinal failure centres throughout the UK
• Comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment and in-patient care (including transplant surgery, gastroenterology, hepatology, radiology and microbiology)

Contacts and referrals

Email the transplant admin team

Phone: 01223 349461

Encapsulating Peritoneal Sclerosis

Cambridge is one of 2 national referral centres for surgery to treat encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) – most frequently caused by long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). EPS occurs in a very small proportion of PD patients – often those who have had recurrent episodes of peritonitis or have received PD for more than 5 years.

Highlights

• One of a handful of centres in the world with extensive experience in this sort of surgery
• Receives referrals and requests for advice from across the globe

Contacts and referrals

Email the EPS team.

Phone: 01223 348289