UAMS Certified to Perform Liver Transplants

By Lance Turner

Arkansasbusiness.com Daily Report

April 14, 2005

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock said Thursday that it has received approval to begin the state's first liver transplant program and will soon perform the state's first procedure.

The nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing, which governs the nation's organ procurement and transplantation network, certified the UAMS Liver Transplant Program this week.

Dr. Youmin Wu is the program's director. He is also a professor of surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.

Dr. Michael Edwards, professor and chairman of the department of surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine, called the UNOS certification "an important step closer to UAMS' goal of bringing a new lifesaving service to Arkansas."

"We know there are Arkansans on waiting lists to receive a liver transplant and others who will need this complex surgery in the future, so we want to ensure residents will no longer need to travel out of state for this procedure," Edwards said.

UAMS said about 100 Arkansans are on liver transplant waiting lists in other states.

UAMS said its liver transplant team will evaluate transplant candidates based on their condition. Those patients are placed on a UNOS national list, ranked by severity, so that when a liver becomes available the UAMS patients will be eligible.

Edwards said UAMS expects to perform 20-30 liver transplants a year, with a potential of 50-60 transplants a year, depending on need.

Wu joined the UAMS faculty in 2004 to create the liver transplant program. He has created programs in Iowa and China and now leads a transplant team of 25 at UAMS.

According to UAMS, Wu has performed about 800 transplants. He holds world records for various procedures, including a transplant with the oldest donor and the longest survival; the oldest recipient and longest survival; and the youngest recipient, a 19-day-old baby.

Copyright © 2005 Arkansas Business Publishing Group.

This article posted May 11, 2005.