As you know, kidney transplantation is the preferred therapy for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Patients who undergo a transplant have an increase in their life expectancy and their quality of life. They can become eligible for placement on a kidney transplant list when their percentage kidney function, as measured by Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate, is less than 20%. Therefore, many patients can be or are listed before they start dialysis. Of the patients who reach dialysis, a large number are eligible to receive a kidney transplant. However, only 16% of dialysis patients are currently on the waiting list. For dialysis patients who are placed on this list, only about 40% receive a transplant within 5 years, 25% are still on the waitlist, and approximately one third will have died or been removed from the waitlist over the 5-year period.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have directed the ESRD networks to develop quality improvement programs for dialysis units with the objective to increase the number of patients who are referred for transplant and placed on the kidney transplant waitlist.

At the University Hospital of Brooklyn at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, we believe the dialysis unit is an important part of the community. For this reason, the Division of Transplantation would like you to meet our comprehensive team of specialists.   According to the CMS, dialysis centers are required to educate patients about renal transplantation.  We are committed and enthusiastic to help with this requirement by offering our services to your patients. Our Downstate team can also assist your patients to complete the steps needed to be placed on the waitlist by scheduling the required testing needed, such as:

• Colonoscopies
• PAP smears,
• Mammograms
• Outpatient cardiac testing

We can also work with your center to arrange the patient’s appointments around their dialysis schedule to visit the transplant center and complete all necessary testing. Once the patient is on the waitlist, we will be happy to be your partner and ensure that the patient maintains a stable state of health.  You can count on us with our collaborative healthcare team if your patient develops a change in their medical condition with a severe illness such as cancer, chronic severe infection, congestive heart failure or any other conditions that will affect their transplant candidacy.

Please call us today at 718-270-3168 or email dmctransplantconsult@downstate.edu to refer your patient for a consultation. We look forward to strengthening our partnership and helping your patients and the community thrive.

Transplant Surgeons

Sumanth Suresh, MD, Nabil Sumrani, MD

Nephrologists

 Moro Salifu, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, Okwudili Nnaji, MD, Subodh Saggi, MD

Division of Transplantation
University Hospital of Brooklyn
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
450 Clarkson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11203
Phone: 718-270-3168
Fax: 718-270-3762
E-mail: dmctransplantconsult@downstate.edu