No parent wants to imagine their child needing an organ transplant. But sometimes it’s a crucial step toward a healthier, hope-filled future. At Nemours you can rest assured that your child will be in the hands of skilled, caring experts offering the very latest advancements in pediatric transplants.
If your child needs treatment from one of our transplant programs – solid organ (liver and kidney), heart, or stem cell/blood and bone marrow transplant (BBMT) – we offer top-rate care from a team of specially trained, board-certified physicians.
Solid Organ Transplants
Our Solid Organ Transplant program at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children (AIDHC) in Wilmington, DE, includes comprehensive evaluation, treatment, and ongoing care for children with end-stage liver and renal (kidney) disease. With more than two decades of experience, our Solid Organ Transplant specialists oversee one of the largest pediatric liver and kidney transplant programs in the country.
In fact, based on our clinical outcomes for liver transplantation (when considered according to how complex a case is and how severe the illness), we’re one of the best in the nation. But our real success is measured by the hundreds of successful transplants we’ve performed – and all of the children who go on to lead normal, happy, healthy lives after their transplant. Seeing the kids we treat improve and thrive as they grow is the highest honor for what we do.
Blood and Bone Marrow Transplants
At both AIDHC and Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville our versatile and comprehensive Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant (BBMT) programs provide the hope of a potential cure for children with certain types of cancers and many life-threatening blood diseases. Our number of therapies include stem cell transplants (also called “blood and bone marrow transplants” or ”hematopoietic progenitor cell transplants”), which our doctors can tailor to create the best treatment for each child.
Heart Transplants
Although most patients with heart disease can be successfully treated with medicine or surgery, for some, heart transplantation may be the answer. A heart transplant is an operation that replaces a diseased heart with a healthy heart from another person. Heart transplantation is recommended for children who would not be able to live without having their heart replaced. Illnesses that can affect the heart in this way include complex congenital (from birth) heart defects and cardiomyopathy (when the heart muscle is inflamed and doesn’t work as well as it should).
The pediatric Heart Transplant Program at AIDHC performed the first heart transplant in the state of Delaware. Our specialists from cardiology and cardiac surgery lead a team of advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, dieticians (nutritionists), social workers, and child life specialists to provide transplant care for children and their families before, during, and after the surgery.
Nemours also has an active Mechanical Circulatory Support Program that provides Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (or ECMO) – a system that temporarily acts as a patient’s heart and lungs. We also offer Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD) – mechanical pumps that take over the work of the damaged chamber (ventricle) of the heart. This includes the Berlin Heart (a pump device that comes in various sizes to accommodate children). These assistive devices are used for patients who require “artificial” heart support while waiting for a heart transplant or for their own heart problems to improve.
At Nemours, our team works together to provide expert, comprehensive care for children with end-stage heart disease. Learn more about our all of comprehensive Nemours Heart Care (Cardiology) services.
Why Choose Us
Here are just a few of the reasons why you can entrust our Nemours transplant teams with your child’s health:
- We focus on your child’s quality of life during and after transplant. Of course, we want your child to come through a transplant with flying colors. But at Nemours we aren’t just concerned about helping your child live – we’re concerned about quality of life, how your child feels and functions over the long-term. Our goal – our hope – is that your child will enjoy continued improvement and progress that opens the doors for a long lifetime of possibilities.
- We offer top-rate therapy that helps kids recuperate – and get back home – quicker. Children get various types of therapy each day throughout the transplant process. This therapy begins as soon after the transplant as possible and includes physical, occupational, and child life therapy. Your child will continue his or her therapy as an outpatient (once sent home from the hospital). We believe that this approach keeps children and families focused on health and wellness throughout the transplant process. As a result, we get your child home as early as possible. In fact, our length of stay is shorter than national averages – many of our transplant patients are back home in three or four weeks after transplant.
- Our multidisciplinary team of specialists will consider the needs of every child referred to us, no matter how complicated the case. We’re willing to take on challenging, high-risk cases whenever possible.
- We provide excellent, personalized care that places the patient and family at the center. Our commitment to communication is central to the process. We want you to be an active participant in the decision making. And we make sure you understand exactly what’s going on at all times during the transplant journey – and that your questions are answered and your fears and concerns are addressed.
- We work as one, coordinated team. Organ transplants are complex and often require the care of multiple physicians and health professionals. At Nemours, we pride ourselves in offering our patients a coordinated team approach. That’s how our physicians and team members from across the different specialties work together to pool their knowledge, skills, expertise, and experience. We function as a group – constantly communicating and collaborating to make the most informed decisions for your child and give even the most complicated cases absolutely optimal care.
Our Experts
Our transplant teams consists of several parts that make a highly-skilled whole. To make each transplant successful, our family of experts will help both you and your child at every stage of your transplant journey. These dedicated Nemours team members include:
- transplant coordinator (a specially trained nurse who serves as your point person from start to finish, arranging all of the details of your child’s care – setting up tests, lab work, therapy, prescriptions, appointments, etc. – and offering ongoing answers to your questions, updates, guidance, advice, and educational information)
- transplant surgeons (who are trained and board-certified in pediatric surgery, have further training in pediatric transplantation, and perform frequent solid organ transplants in children)
- a large, dedicated group of nurses (who oversee your child’s care around the clock, taking care of your child’s needs day and night)
- pediatricians (who are members of our “diagnostic referral service” and transplant team and offer insight into the long-term care of the transplant patient as well as immediate care around the time of transplantation)
- financial coordinator (who works with you and your insurance company to coordinate all financial aspects of your child’s care before and well after transplantation)
- social worker (who’s involved with your family from the pre-transplant evaluation through transplantation and post-transplant care, providing emotional support and helping you prepare for each step of the process)
- physical and occupational therapists (who encourage specific activities as well as movement to make sure your child is physically strong before leaving the hospital)
- child life specialists (child development professionals specially trained to work with kids who are sick or disabled and are receiving treatment in a hospital setting)
- psychologists and psychiatrists (who offer a wide range of support services to children and families before and long after the transplant)
- clergy (who can offer spiritual and emotional support)
- teachers, teachers’ aides, and volunteers (who can help to educate kids at their bedside and in our on-site school)
- dietitians/nutritionists (who offer advice and meal plans for kids with specific nutritional needs)
- other support staff (such as pharmacists and laboratory technicians)
Children who need a transplant often need the care of many different specialists, too. Depending on your child’s condition and the type of transplant needed, your team will also include certain specialists such as:
- nephrologists (the main caregivers of children with kidney disease, who manage patients before and during dialysis as well as after a kidney transplant)
- gastroenterologists and hepatologists (who offer expertise in the treatment and management of liver disease before and after a liver transplant)
- endocrinologists (if your child has a related problem of the endocrine system, like a growth disorder or diabetes)
- urologists (if your child has urinary tract problems).
- cardiologists and cardiothoracic (heart) surgeons (who provide care or perform surgery for children who need heart transplants)
- oncologists and hematologists (who care for children with cancer, blood disorders, immune system diseases, and bone marrow failure syndromes who need a blood and bone marrow, or stem cell, transplant)
Whatever kind of transplant your child needs, we make it easy for you to see members of your care team. Usually a family can visit with multiple specialists on a single day – all at one location, which saves you precious time and money.
Our Post-Transplant Care
After children get a solid organ transplant they still need to take medications (called “immunosuppressants” or “anti-rejection medications) for the rest of their lives to maintain their best possible health and ensure that their bodies don’t reject the new organ. Children who’ve had a bone marrow transplant usually need to take these medications for up to a year. When it’s time to take your child home after the transplant we’ll go over everything you need to know about after-care – homecare, school, financial and insurance issues, transportation, medications, as well as signs and symptoms of infection and organ rejection.
And we follow all of our patients very closely post-transplant, both as inpatients in the hospital and as outpatients (either through same-day visits to the hospital or at one of our other Nemours clinics). You can rest assured that we’ll give your child customized aftercare and support to ensure the best possible chance for a healthier future.