Hospital recruits nationally recognized kidney and pancreas transplant team
Riverside, CA – Recently, the transplant team from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and St. Vincent Medical Center joined the medical staff at Riverside Community Hospital as they embark on the final stages of expanding the hospital’s kidney and pancreas transplant program through a Comprehensive Multi-Organ Transplant Institute.
Riverside Community Hospital and the new transplant team are excited to launch a solid organ transplant program in Riverside that will expand throughout the Inland Empire and Orange County. The Transplant Team has a combined 40 years of highly specialized medical, surgical, and research expertise in kidney, kidney-pancreas, and liver transplants. Joining the Riverside Community Hospital team are the following affiliated physicians: Transplant Surgeon, Brendan Boland, M.D., who completed his residency at University of Southern California and USC Medical Center, Transplant and Oncology Surgeon Alagappan Annamalai, M.D. who completed his residency at New York Presbyterian/Queens, Nephrologist Tariq Shah, M.D. who completed his residency at the University of Buffalo, and Board Certified Physician Assistant and Director of Operations, Elise Diner who graduated from Midwestern University.
The Transplant Center at Riverside Community Hospital has been offering kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant services to patients in Riverside and Southern California since 1996. The transplant team has performed life-saving organ transplants for more than 2000 patients. In addition, the largest living donor kidney transplant chain began at Riverside Community Hospital in 2012, which resulted in saving 60 lives across the country. The center uses the most advanced surgical and treatment options for patients in kidney failure or those with type 1 diabetes that have damaged the pancreas requiring a transplant. Through a multi-disciplinary approach the team of health care experts works with each patient to develop personalized treatment plans to maximize the opportunity for patients to be eligible for transplant; have the shortest wait times possible; undergo the surgery; recover safely; and ultimately prevent organ rejection and save lives.
“The decision to rebuild and expand our transplant program was another part of our commitment to bringing world-class patient care to the patients we serve,” says Riverside Community Hospital President and CEO Jackie DeSouza-Van Blaricum. “We are excited to welcome our new transplant team who are highly trained and experienced in their specialty offering a higher level of care. Our transplant patients deserve the very best and are looking for a better quality of life which is what our new team offers those seeking transplant services in the Southern California and Inland Empire area.”
Currently, nearly 22,000 people in California are waiting for an organ transplant and of those, more than 2,000 are in need of a kidney transplant. According to the National Kidney Foundation, one in three American adults is currently at risk for developing kidney disease—major risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, family history and being age 60 or older. Once the kidneys fail, dialysis or a kidney transplant is required.
“We are excited to serve this community to save lives with organ transplantation, and to be able to provide this personalized and compassionate care alongside Riverside Community Hospital”, says Anand Annamalai, Transplant Surgeon at Riverside Community Hospital.
A single organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and improve the lives of as many as 75 more by donating their corneas and tissue. California residents can register to be an organ and tissue donor at www.DonateLifeCA.org .