Welcome to the Transplant Unit, the home of world class solid-organ transplantation in Southern Africa.
The transplant unit at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, under the leadership of Prof Jerome Loveland, is one of the leading solid-organ transplant programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. As part of South Africa’s first and only private academic teaching hospital, our unit combines cutting-edge clinical care with specialist training and research to serve patients from across the country and region.
Established as an integrated component of the hospital’s highly specialised services, the transplant unit has grown to become the leading solid organ transplant program in the country. The unit is recognised for its expertise in liver and kidney transplants, with a strong emphasis on complex care, multidisciplinary teamwork and innovation.
The unit offers comprehensive transplant services for both adult and paediatric patients who require liver or kidney transplants, aimed at restoring health and quality of life for people suffering from end stage organ failure.
Liver and Kidney Transplantation
Liver Transplant – This unit offers both deceased donor and living donor liver transplantation for adult and paediatric patients and is the only unit in the country and region that offers living donor liver transplantation services.
The living liver donor program, where a portion of a healthy adult liver can be safely transplanted and then regenerate, is unique in Southern Africa and expands treatment options for adults and children facing long waiting times on the deceased donor list due to severe organ shortages in the country.
Kidney Transplant – Alongside liver transplant, the unit also performs life-saving kidney transplants in both adult and paediatric patients who suffer from end stage kidney disease. Patients can be transplanted with a kidney form either a deceased donor or living donor kidney, where one kidney from a healthy adult is removed and transplanted into the recipient. A living kidney donor can live a normal, healthy and productive life after donation of their kidney.
Both recipients and potential donors undergo a comprehensive and multi-faceted medical, anatomical and psychosocial assessment to determine suitability of liver or kidney transplant as a treatment option.
Our approach to care is highly collaborative and transplant candidates are cared for by dedicated teams including:
– Transplant surgeons
– Transplant anaesthesiologists
– Hepatologists and Nephrologists
– Critical care specialists
– Transplant nurse coordinators
– Allied health professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, dieticians and physiotherapists
This multidisciplinary model ensures personalised assessment, optimisation before transplantation and a coordinated follow-up care plan throughout the transplant journey.
Transplantation is life saving for patients with end stage liver or kidney disease. The unit not only provides critical collaborative transplant care but also plays a key role in training future transplant surgical and medical specialists. The unit is committed to clinical research to improve outcomes and drives education and awareness campaigns to enhance public knowledge about organ donation and transplantation.
This commitment to research and teaching helps build the future of transplant medicine and improves access to care across South Africa.