ORGAN TRANSPLANT

Northwestern Medicine Organ Transplant Center is No. 1 in Illinois and No. 10 nationally in the number of transplants performed, per the United Network for Organ Sharing, 2025.

The Comprehensive Transplant Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine was founded in 2009 to facilitate research and education across all areas of organ transplantation. The Comprehensive Transplant Center's research infrastructure is built around four pillars: immune tolerance, biomarker discovery, outcomes research and engineered tissues. These pillars support faculty in accelerating innovation to provide better patient care. ​We are the second-largest NIH-funded transplant program in the U.S. and have more than 90 active clinical trials. Research funding helps our experts improve transplant care for patients around the world.

Clinical trials in transplant

To view all clinical trials, visit Clinical Trials at Feinberg School of Medicine

Find a Northwestern Medicine Expert in Organ Transplant

Northwestern Medicine welcomes the opportunity to partner with you in caring for your patients.

Find an NM TRANSPLANT SURGEON

Refer for Kidney Transplant through the ASPIRE Program

Referred patients will be contacted by our team within two business days.

ASPIRE Program

Highlights from Northwestern medicine ORgan transplant

Featuring: Satish Nadig, MD, PhD as ATC Chair and Northwestern University Faculty

Surgeons. nephrologists, hepatologists and scientists from the Comprehensive Transplant Center will be attending and presenting at this year’s American Transplant Congress. Come see us at booth #234.
Northwestern Medicine has launched a kidney transplant referral process for more efficient intake. The ASPIRE program is designed to connect referred patients with a dedicated team to help them reach transplant evaluation faster.
Featuring: Sean W. P. Koppe, MD, Justin R. Boike, MD, Sheila Eswaran, MD, ​Andres Duarte, MD, and Dempsey L. Hughes, MD
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In this episode of Better Edge, a panel of Northwestern Medicine hepatologists as they discuss recent scientific updates from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) annual meeting held in November 2025
Featuring: Satish Nadig, MD, PhD and Zachary Dietch, MD 

​The challenge of organ allocation for liver transplantation remains a critical concern for physicians treating patients with stage 4 colorectal cancer (CRC) who present with liver metastases. To address these challenges, Northwestern Medicine has launched a clinical program called Colorectal Metastasis to Liver Extraction with Auxiliary Transplant and Delayed Resection (CLEAR). This program aims to provide innovative care for patients diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer and liver metastases.
​Featuring: Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, Vinayak S. Rohan, MD, and Vicente A Garcia Tomas, MD

Surgeons at Northwestern Medicine performed a pre-emptive living donor kidney transplant on a 28-year-old man with stage 5 chronic kidney disease. The patient remained awake during the surgery without general anesthesia and was discharged home less than 24 hours post-op. He reported feeling no pain during surgery. This was the first awake kidney transplant performed at Northwestern Medicine. Since then, the team has performed 14 more, and that number continues to climb.

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Continuing Medical Education (CME)

For a full list of CME opportunities, visit Continuing Medical Education at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Meet our Organ Transplant faculty at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

We are committed to improving human health through education and discovery.

MEET OUR FACULTY