50 Years of Transplantation Milestones

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Interactive Transplant Milestones Timeline* (Opens in a new window)

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1954 First successful kidney transplant performed at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Medical team of doctors Joseph E. Murray, John Hartwell Harrison and John P. Merrill perform transplant on identical twins.

1963 Dr. Thomas E. Starzl performs first liver transplant at University of Colorado.

First lung transplant performed by Dr. James D. Hardy at University of Mississippi. The patient survived only a few days.

1967 Dr. Christian Barnard performs first heart transplant at Groote Shuur in Cape Town, South Africa.

Improved immunosupression drugs result in the first successful liver transplant, also performed by Dr. Starzl.

1968 First U.S. heart transplant performed by Dr. Norman Shumway at Stanford University.

First pancreas transplant performed at University of Minnesota Hospital.

1979 U.S. trials of Sandimmune in cadaver kidney transplants begin at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and at the University of Colorado. Results show that Sandimmune (cyclosporine) combined with steroids, controls rejection better than previous drug therapy.

1983 FDA releases Sandimmune for general use in U.S. Its ability to improve graft and survival rates herald a new era for kidney, liver and heart transplantation.

Dr. Joel Cooper performs first successful lung transplant at Toronto General Hospital.

1989 The first successful living-related liver transplant is performed at University of Chicago Medical Center.

1990 The first living-related lung transplant is performed at Stanford University.

1990 The National Kidney Foundation hosts the first U.S. Transplant Games in Indianapolis. 400 transplant athletes from all over the country compete for medals in the Olympic-style event, showcasing the success of transplantation. The event's co-founder is Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation, now Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

1995 A study by Dr. Paul Terasaki and colleagues at UCLA shows 3-year graft survival rate for spouse-to-spouse kidney transplants at 85%, which is comparable to that of parent-to-child transplants at 82% and far better than cadaver organ transplants at 70%.

At Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Dr. Lloyd Ratner and Dr. Louis Kavoussi perform the world's first laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy in which the live donor's kidney is removed through a site a bit larger than a silver dollar. This new procedure results in fewer post-operative days in hospital, a speedier recovery, less scarring and decreased pain for donors.

1999 The U.S. Congress passes The Organ Donor Leave Act, enabling federal employees who choose to become living organ donors to receive paid leave.

The first non-directed kidney donation occurs.

Already pioneered in Japan and performed in France and Belgium, the first U.S. kidney transplant across immunologic and blood group barriers is performed through a process of desensitization via plasmapheresis and IV immunoglobulin. This enables transplants to occur between donors and recipients of different blood types.

Steroid-free immunosuppression becomes protocol for some selected recipients. The University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington pioneers it.

2000 The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) begins testing two new programs aimed at increasing the availability of organs for transplantation. In paired exchange, wo incompatible living donor-recipient pairs swap donors so that each recipient can be transplanted. List-paired exchange, allows an incompatible donor to donate a kidney to the general pool. In return, the intended recipient advances on the waiting list for a cadaver kidney.

2000 The National Kidney Foundation and the American Societies of Transplantation, Transplant Surgeons, and Nephrology convene the Live Organ Donor Consensus Group. This organization develops recommended practice guidelines to assist transplant physicians, primary care providers and health care planners to provide the best care for living donors.

2001 The number of living organ donors in the United States surpasses the number of non-living donors for the first time.

2003 The transplant waiting list grew to over 80,000 candidates, with the expectation that it will reach 100,000 candidates by 2010.

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