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We have one of the highest volume kidney transplant programs in the country, with outstanding patient outcomes. To learn more, call 310-825-6836.

If you are a kidney donor, please contact the Living Donor Line at 866-672-5333.

UCLA Kidney Transplant in the News

Strangers Become Family After Woman’s Life-Saving Gesture To Widowed Mother Of 4.

Story on CBS Los Angeles


All kidneys are pink

"I wish society could put on glasses to see people the way a transplant surgeon does, as we’re more similar than we are different," said Dr. Jeffrey Veale. Story on UCLA News Releases


Someone you know needs a kidney

Through a donor exchange, you can make sure they get one. Story on Los Angeles Times


UCLA Kidney Exchange Program "Opens Floodgates" to Transplants for Hundreds of Patients

Dr. Jeffrey Veale -- During this season of giving, a UCLA program that connects patients with matching through an innovative exchange program celebrated on Monday more than 100 transplants. The UCLA Kidney Exchange Program calls itself an “innovative twist on efforts” to increase the organ donor pool. It gives patients who are unable to receive a kidney from a loved one the change to still receive a kidney through an exchange between incompatible donor-recipient pairs.
Story on NBC | KTLA | CBS


UCLA Kidney Transplant Program Ranked #1

The UCLA Kidney Transplant Program is ranked #1 among the top transplant centers in the United States. The current listing is a service of the National Kidney Registry. Listing on kidneytransplantcenters.org


UCLA Medical Center’s Kidney Transplant Chains Focus Of New Web Documentary

Dr. Jeffrey Veale on bhcourier.com -- Imagine undergoing the removal of a kidney to save the life of a complete stranger. For many people, it’s a difficult scenario to envision. But a compelling documentary paints the picture of just such a tale. It chronicles a life-saving kidney transplant chain initiated by Karen Willis, who made the decision to donate after giving careful thought to the idea of helping a complete stranger. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has been a significant player in kidney transplant chains, in which donors who want to give to a medically incompatible loved one or friend are matched with another, compatible recipient, whose original donor is also paired with another concordant recipient, and so on. Article on bhcourier.com | UCLA Kidney Exchange Program


Daughter Donates Kidney to Save Father’s Life

Dr. Jeffrey Veale on KTLA -- WESTWOOD, Calif. (KTLA) — In the truest spirit of holiday giving, a daughter has given her father the most precious gift of all — a new kidney and a new chance at life. Luis Ramirez and his wife moved to the United States from Mexico so their children could have a better future. Ramirez never learned to read or write English, but he managed to launch a successful landscaping business and raise six children. One of those children, Graciela, has now given her father the ultimate gift, donating a kidney to keep him alive. Webcast on KTLA | Article on ktla.com


FOX News Highlights 60-person Kidney Chain | UCLA Kidney Exchange Program

Dr. Jeffrey Veale on KTTV -- Video courtesy FOX News KTTV-Channel 11's "Studio 11" aired a Feb. 24 interview with Dr. Jeffrey Veale, assistant professor-in-residence of urology and director of UCLA's donor exchange program, and two UCLA patients about the longest paired U.S. kidney exchange chain to date, involving 30 kidneys and 60 people across the country. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center's kidney transplant team handled 16 of the patients, the largest number of all hospitals participating. Webcast on KTTV


Featured on the New York Times: 60 Lives, 30 Kidneys, All Linked

Dr. Jeffrey Veale on nytimes.com -- N.Y. Times Showcases Massive Kidney-Exchange Chain. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center's kidney transplant team handled 16 of the patients, the largest number of all hospitals participating. Dr. Jeffrey Veale, assistant professor-in-residence of urology and director of UCLA's donor exchange program, was quoted. Article on nytimes.com


Patients Waiting for Kidneys: Lives Changed by Live Donor Chains

Dr. Jeffrey Veale on empowher.com --In the United States, 94,293 people were on the waiting list as candidates for a kidney as of 11:55 am EST today, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. An individual would require a kidney transplant if she has kidney failure. Article on empowher.com


Living on the kindness — and four kidneys — of donors

Patient of Dr. Jeffrey Veale on latimes.com -- David Trujillo, 29, has gotten new leases on life from family members and a stranger. With the latest transplant, he is determined to make the most of the lease. David Trujillo's torso is a web of scars. Shunts in his arms, hoses in his stomach, garish gashes left from biopsies and scalpel incisions. In the summer when he goes shirtless, people often stare. Sometimes, to lighten the mood, he'll say he was bitten by a shark. In reality, his body tells the tale of multiple bouts of kidney failure. Article on latimes.com


Are Minorities Getting Their Fair Share of Kidney Transplants?

Dr. Jeffrey Veale on Examiner.com -- A multi-center study—the largest of its kind—led by UCLA transplant surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Veale set out to determine whether minorities were getting their fair share of kidney transplants. The investigators reviewed a series of chain transplantations performed from February 2008 to June 2011 at 57 centers nationwide. Article on Examiner.com
Additional Coverage: Donate Life | Red Orbit | Science Codex


Living Kidney Donations Favor Some Patient Groups: Study

Reuters -- People in the United States who receive a kidney from a live donor who is not a relative tend to be white, highly educated and live in wealthier neighborhoods, according to a study that calls for wider outreach to promote living donation. Article on reuters.com


UCLA Medical Center Performs Its First Living Donor Kidney “Swap”

UCLA Medical Center on Sept. 20 performed its first living donor kidney "swap," a procedure in which a loved one of a kidney transplant patient who is not compatible as a donor exchanges organs with another incompatible pair under an innovative new paired donation program. UCLA aims to lead the way for other Southern California transplant centers to adopt this life-enhancing procedure. Link to video