Transplant Services
Saint Francis Health System supports three state-of-the-art transplantation programs. Patients and their families travel to Tulsa from southern Kansas, northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri and from across the state of Oklahoma to receive the lifesaving kidney, heart and blood and marrow transplantation services available at Saint Francis Hospital.
Kidney Transplant
Saint Francis Health System began its Kidney Transplant Program in the spring of 2005. Since that time, patients have come for kidney transplants from across Oklahoma and surrounding states. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the national organization that registers waiting transplant patients and matches potential donors, more than 16,000 kidney transplants are completed annually; however, more than 68,000 people remain on the list waiting for kidneys to become available. Over 300 of those people are waiting in Oklahoma.
The kidney transplant team is specially trained in the ongoing care of people who are waiting for a kidney transplant. The team includes RN transplant coordinators, a social worker, a dietitian, pharmacists, secretary and staff throughout the hospital. They are dedicated to providing superior care and individual education to each patient and their families.
Saint Francis Hospital offers laparoscopic surgery for most living kidney donors. Compared to the more traditional “open” surgery, laparoscopic patients have less pain and return to their normal lives faster. Living kidney donors undergo extensive medical testing and education on what it means to be a living donor.
For more information about the Kidney Transplant Program, please call - in the Tulsa area at (918) 502-3900 or toll-free at (888) 801-0018.
Heart Transplant
The Saint Francis Heart Transplant Program was developed in 1993. Since that time 142 heart transplants have been performed with ages ranging from young adult to older adults. Today, 90 to 93 percent of heart transplant recipients reach their first year anniversary and 80 to 90 percent celebrate their ten-year anniversary.
Heart transplantation is a treatment for what is called "end-stage" heart disease, meaning that without a heart transplant, your life is at risk because of your weakened or damaged heart. The urgency of surgical intervention, however, varies considerably. Some patients are able to continue living at home, and some patients require hospital care while waiting for a matching heart. A comprehensive evaluation, including medical tests, and psychological consultations is designed to help you and the heart transplant team determine if a heart transplant is the best option. A decision in favor of transplantation would mean you and your family would enter into a partnership with the transplant team, playing a vital role in treatment planning, communications and follow-up.
Much of the care that has made heart transplants so successful over the past decade begins after the actual surgery. The primary goal is to prevent or minimize potential complications, while helping you achieve the highest possible quality of life. The Saint Francis heart transplant team defines the program as a lifelong commitment and works closely with patients and their families, as well as with specialists across the country to provide the best possible care over the years to come.
For more information about the Saint Francis Heart Transplant Program, please call (918) 494-3279.
Blood and Marrow Transplantation
It is the hope of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) team that the BMT program at Saint Francis Hospital is synonymous with hope for our patients and their families. Transplant has been a treatment option at Saint Francis Hospital since 1987.
For many patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, blood and marrow transplantation is the only curative option. It is used to treat many types of cancer including leukemia, breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, Hodgkin’s disease and other selected cancers and bone marrow disorders. It is also used to treat non-cancerous disorders, such as aplastic anemia and severe combined immunodeficiency diseases. Transplantation is not an experimental treatment. It has been performed worldwide for over 20 years.
Because the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program at Saint Francis is affiliated with many national research programs, patient options include the latest innovations in cancer treatment. The program is committed to working with local physicians and community hospitals to strengthen cancer services in communities throughout Oklahoma.
Saint Francis is also a designated center for the National Bone Marrow Registry for donor harvest and shares data with the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry.
For more information about the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program at Saint Francis, please call (918) 494-1558.
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