Research & Technology

Cutting edge research and technology benefit patient outcomes through ground breaking studies conducted in the Transplantation Immunology Laboratory. By monitoring post-transplant immune responses, the Lab can predict rejection episodes by noting changes in immune activity well before clinical signs or symptoms occur. Measuring the immune status of patients versus their organ transplants and determining the type of rejection that may occur, allows for the most appropriate treatment to reverse rejection episodes. Nationally, cost factors prohibit this type of specialized testing; however the Lab partnered with the LifeLink HealthCare Institute and the LifeLink Legacy Fund to implement these critical tests.

Locally developed testing methods identify positive or negative crossmatch reactions as being true or false. False negative reactions identify patients at risk for a transplant. Knowledge of false positive reactions, about 20% of all crossmatches, has allowed successful transplantation of over 400 patients who otherwise would not have been transplanted.