Pioneering Kidney/Liver Transplant Being Performed at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center

Dr. Ajay Sahajpal of Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center is the first surgeon in the United States to use the En Bloc technique for organ transplant.

The kidney and liver are stitched together externally and then implanted through one incision.

It is less invasive and requires less recovery time.

Dr. Sahajpal was a special live guest Wednesday on the CBS 58 News at 4.

Across the US, more than 123,000 men, women and children are on organ donation waiting lists, and more than 100 new people are added each day.

 In Wisconsin, our total current list of those waiting for organs is about 2,300 people.  There are four transplant hospitals in the state - three here in the Milwaukee area including Aurora St Luke's and one in Madison.

In 2014, nearly 600 organs were transplanted in Wisconsin, with kidney being the most common, with nearly 350 total transplants. Liver, pancreas, heart and lung transplants also occurred in the state.

St. Luke's Transplant program ranks No. 1 in Wisconsin and performs about  40 liver transplants each year. 

Since it began in 1968, The Aurora Heart Transplant team has performed  ore than 850 heart transplants

 Milwaukee County has the lowest total percentage of organ donors in the state.

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