Overview
What Is Kidney Transplantation?
Kidney Transplantation
Receiving or donating a kidney is a life‐changing experience. At Northwestern Medicine Organ Transplant Center, we support you every step of the way — with leading clinical research, innovation and compassionate care.
Our team understands the difference a transplant can make. That is why we work hard to offer new approaches to immunosuppression, which helps prevent your body from rejecting transplanted organs, including:
- Clinical trials in immune tolerance
- State‐of‐the‐art genomic and proteomic immune monitoring
- Health services and outcomes research
Why Choose Northwestern Medicine for Your Kidney Transplant
The Organ Transplant Center is the longest continual provider of organ transplantation in Chicago, Illinois. Since the program began in 1964, we have performed about 7,000 kidney transplants.
In 2023, we performed 347 kidney transplants, the most of any hospital in Illinois. We have performed the 7th most kidney transplants in the U.S. in 2023, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing
To make an appointment at the Organ Transplant Center, please call 312.695.0828 (TTY: 711).
Northwestern Medicine Living Donor Program
Northwestern Medicine has the largest living donor kidney transplant program in Illinois and one of the largest programs in the country. Our team performed 91 living donor kidney transplants in 2023 and more than 500 over the last five years.
Benefits of receiving a kidney from a living donor include:
- No waiting period, allowing you to avoid dialysis or stop it earlier.
- Surgeries can be scheduled at a convenient time for the donor and recipient.
- A kidney from a living donor often works sooner than a kidney from a deceased person and typically lasts longer.
The Northwestern Medicine Hispanic Kidney Transplant Program
We recognize the importance of a culturally sensitive approach. That's why we offer the Northwestern Medicine Hispanic Transplant Program; it offers transplant care to people who prefer to speak Spanish.
The program includes a bilingual transplant team that includes:
- Surgeons
- A social worker
- A transplant nurse coordinator
- A financial coordinator
- Other support staff
Led by Juan Carlos Caicedo, MD, we offer education about transplants that is presented in Spanish. This educational clinic in downtown Chicago.
Kidney Care Close to Home
In addition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, you can receive care at any of our seven kidney transplant outreach clinics, including:
- Crest Hill/Joliet: Serving the south and southwest suburbs
- Deerfield: Serving the north suburbs
- Oak Brook: Serving the west suburbs
- Oak Lawn: Serving southwest Chicago
- Huntley: Serving Chicago's far north suburbs
- Chesterton, Indiana: Serving north Indiana and southwest Michigan
- St. John, Indiana: Serving northwest Indiana and Chicago’s south suburbs
Our teams can see in outreach clinics if any of the following apply to you:
- You have complex kidney disease and need a consultation or second opinion.
- You are a potential kidney transplant candidate.
- You are on the Northwestern Memorial Hospital kidney transplant waiting list.