Home » transplant|Transplant CenterEmory Transplant Center » Awards & Recognition

Awards & Recognition

FDA Approves Transplant Drug That Preserves Kidneys, Avoids Toxicity

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug Nulojix (belatacept) for the prevention of graft rejection after kidney transplants. Belatacept could be a less toxic alternative to calcineurin inhibitors, the drugs most transplant patients now rely on to inhibit their immune systems, but which can damage the kidneys and lead to high blood pressure and diabetes. Learn more >>

ETC Research Has High Profile at Conferences

Emory Transplant Center researchers have been busy presenting their research to other transplant professionals from around the world attending three major conferences. According to Dr. Kirk, who is the ETC's scientific director, "The dissemination of our research findings is critical to the advancement of the field of transplantation. Faculty and trainees continue to contribute cutting-edge science, and we are proud of their presentations at these major meetings. Learn more >>

Another Emory First: Hand Transplant

On March 12, Linda Lu, 21, became the first person at Emory - as well as the first in the state and this region - to have a hand transplant. The transplant replaced her left hand, which was amputated following complications from Kawasaki's disease when she was a year-old baby. Her transplant marks the beginning of a comprehensive composite tissue and allotransplantation program, involving years of planning and the coordination of a wide variety of transplant professionals, including recovery surgeons, anesthesiolgists, researchers in immunology, nursing teams, and rehabilitation specialists. Learn more >>

HIV-Infected Recipients Have Good Outcomes

According to a new multi-center study published in the Nov. 18, 2010 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, HIV-positive kidney transplant recipients can have as good an outcome as non-infected individuals. In addition, the immunosuppressive drugs they take post-transplant do not increase their risk of complications from HIV infection. Emory was one of the centers in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-funded study. Learn more >>

Celebrating Women in Medicine

Emory University honored one of its own, hand transplant surgeon Dr. Linda Cendales at Women First, an inaugural program honoring the accomplishments of School of Medicine-associated women who are or were the first in their field of study. Learn more >>

Emory Transplant Program "Firsts"

The first multiple organ transplant center in Georgia.

1947 - The first corneal transplant in Georgia was performed at Emory.

1966 - The first kidney transplant in Georgia was performed at Emory.

1985 - First adult heart transplant in Georgia was performed at Emory.

1988 - First heart/lung transplant in Georiga was performed at Emory.

1993 - Established the first lung transplant program in Georgia.

2003 - First islet transplant in Georgia was performed at Emory. The clinical islet lab is one of only a handful of such centers in the world.

2009 - Georgia's first "domino" liver transplant, a sequential process in which a viable liver from a deceased donor is transplanted into the first recipient, whose liver is then transferred into the next recipient, was perfomed at Emory.

• Our hand transplant program is under the direction of Dr. Linda Cendales, who is the only surgeon with formal training in each of hand, microsurgery, an transplant surgery in the United States.

•  The only transplant center in Atlanta or Georgia, and one of a few places in the U.S., performing a novel, life-saving protocol to treat bile duct cancer.