Seven years after being diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, Mark Lopez's kidney function dropped to 20%, and he was given a choice between preparing for dialysis or receiving a kidney transplant, Ericka Lopez said.
After undergoing a series of tests and screenings, Ericka Lopez received a call from her doctor with news that she said left her in disbelief. She was a match to donate one of her kidneys to her husband.
In May, Mark Lopez underwent a kidney transplant at the Adult Abdominal Transplant Center through Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas.
On March 12, hospital officials and patients celebrated the opening of an expanded space for the Abdominal Transplant Center that will allow the center to provide transplants to hundreds of more patients over the next decade.
The big picture
The new clinic for the Abdominal Transplant Center, which opened on the first floor of the Dell Seton Medical Center, provides care for patients needing a kidney or pancreas transplant. The center helps patients transition between inpatient and outpatient care, and serves living kidney donors undergoing evaluations, surgeries and post-surgical care.
Looking ahead, the center plans to provide 75 transplants a year within five years and 150 transplants a year within 10 years, said Dr. Nicole Turgeon, a abdominal transplant surgeon and director of the Abdominal Transplant Center.
“We are anticipating having more and more patients served as a result of the growth we saw and the continued growth we're already seeing in this new space,” Turgeon said in an interview with Community Impact.
A closer look
Patients receive comprehensive and multidisciplinary care, including biopsies, blood draws, medication and clinic visits, Turgeon said. The clinic allows patients to be connected to a range of services available at Dell Seton Medical Center, including care from cardiologists and dermatologists, she said.
The new clinical space includes:
- Lobby with check-in area and check-out bays
- 14 patient exam rooms, two treatment rooms and one consult room
- An infusion center with seven bays
- Phlebotomy room with stations for drawing blood
The Abdominal Transplant Center first opened in November 2021 at the Ascension Clinical Education Center of I-35. Staff have completed 76 kidney transplant recipient surgeries and 48 living donor transplants, according to Dell Seton information.
The expanded Abdominal Transplant Center at Dell Seton Medical Center was needed due to a growing number of patients, Turgeon said. There are currently 154 patients on the wait list for a kidney transplant, nearly half of which are under the age of 50, said Travis Watson, transplant administrator for the Abdominal Transplant Center.
“We often think that kidney disease only affects older people, but that simply isn't true,” Watson said. “These are people who are trying to start families, trying to raise families, trying to work, trying to do all the things that normal people want to do.”
To date, the center has received over 2,000 referrals for kidney or pancreas recipients and over 400 referrals for living donors.
Also of note
Students and faculty at the Dell Medical School can participate in education and research at the clinic, making it the first academic multiorgan transplant center in Central Texas, Watson said.
“We have more space for them to participate, do the work that they need to do, and by having a larger space and accommodating more patients in the future, we'll be able to have a larger impact on the research that we do,” Turgeon said.
The impact
In the first year after receiving his kidney transplant, Mark Lopez said he is continuing to enjoy a healthy, improved quality of life. He attends his nieces’ and nephews’ softball and baseball games, takes walks around Town Lake, and enjoys outdoor festivities.
“My life has changed for the better,” Lopez said. “If anyone out there has any doubts about making a change to your lifestyle to become a candidate, or if you have reservations about putting yourself on the transplant list, my advice to them would be to do it.”
People considering donating a kidney should know that they can live a very healthy, long life with one kidney, Turgeon said. The center will not let someone donate a kidney unless they believe it is safe for them to do so, she said.
“If you know someone who is in need of a kidney, I urge you to consider getting tested,” Ericka Lopez said. “Thousands are waiting. You could be the one who gives them a second chance at life.”
