The abdominal transplant programs at UW Medical Center performed very well in many areas during 2003, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, which compares programs across the nation.

The transplant rate for patients on a waiting list to receive a liver transplant was 94 percent last year, compared to 44 percent nationwide. The waitlist mortality rate, the percentage of patients who die while waiting for a liver transplant, was 56 percent lower than the national expected rate.

The one-month and one-year graft survival rates for liver transplant patients at UWMC are also higher than the national expected rate. The one-month graft survival rate at UWMC is 97.91 percent, compared to 93.7 percent nationwide, and the one-year rate is 90.73 percent, compared to 84.48 percent for the rest of the country.

The kidney/pancreas transplant program also fared better than the national expected rate. The kidney/pancreas transplant rate at UWMC last year was 36 percent, compared to an expected rate of 22 percent. Patients waited an average of 30 months for a kidney transplant, compared to 40 months in the rest of the country. One-year and three-year graft survival rates for kidney and pancreas transplants at UWMC are also somewhat higher than the national expected rate.