Nation’s Top Liver Transplant Program at Rutgers-Affiliated University Hospital
Physicians at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School achieve highest one-year survival rate
The liver transplant program at Rutgers-affiliated University Hospital in Newark was ranked first in the nation, along with Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, for its one-year patient survival rate, according to data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).
Nationally recognized physicians at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark lead the Center for Advanced Liver Diseases and Transplantation at University Hospital, which had an estimated one-year patient survival rate of 98.7 percent based on data on adult liver transplant recipients from July 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2019.
University Hospital’s liver transplant center – the first of its kind in New Jersey and among the busiest of 131 programs nationwide – opened in 1989. More than 1,500 liver transplant surgeries, including 80-plus transplants in the last two years, have been performed there.
“We applaud the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School physicians, nurses and staff for their outstanding liver transplant services at University Hospital,” said Brian L. Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and executive vice president for Health Affairs at Rutgers University. “The well-being of our patients is our top priority, and this impressive ranking confirms that our health care community is providing top-notch care.”
“I am proud of our excellent liver transplant team,” said Robert L. Johnson, dean of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “The program’s top ranking means our liver transplant patients are receiving among the best available care anywhere in the nation.”
“The distinction of being ranked as a top facility for our one-year survival rate by the SRTR affirms that our transplant program is one of the top liver transplant programs in the entire nation,” said Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, medical director of the liver transplant program at University Hospital. “This distinction ensures that Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and University Hospital’s transplant program can serve as a destination for world-class care for patients with advanced liver disease. This is made possible by the partnership of our surgical colleagues, led by James V. Guarrera, surgical and program director, and the efforts of our exceptional multidisciplinary liver transplant team.”
The Chronic Disease Research Group, a division of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, operates the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients under contract from the Division of Transplantation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
