News & Events

" John Roberts, M.D., chief of the UCSF Transplant Service and a leading expert in liver transplant surgery for adults and children, recently talked with Andrew Schorr of Patient Power about the risks and benefits of living donor liver transplant surgery. Liver transplants provide patients a chance for a longer...

"People infected with the AIDS virus can safely receive a kidney transplant, researchers reported on Wednesday. The finding, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, is good news for people with HIV who are more prone to kidney disease, in part because of the drugs they must take to stay healthy...

UCSF scientists have received two large grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to refine their human embryonic stem cell-based strategies for treating neurological diseases and liver failure. A team led by Mark Zern, MD, of the University of California, Davis, and including co-principal...

On Saturday August 7th, UCSF will held its annual Pediatric Transplant Picnic at McNears Beach in San Rafael, CA. Hundreds of children and their families will attended this yearly celebration of the Transplant Service at UCSF. A space-themed party included a costume contest, music, dancing, kayaking, face-painting...

UCSF recently hosted the dedication of the Connie Frank Transplant Center, bringing into reality an idea that philanthropic visionary, Connie Frank, first conceptualized in 2006. Designed around the patient, the facility co-locates all staff and services to provide a comfortable and familiar home. Throughout the...

Sharon Blaschka, a Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Research Coordinator in post-liver and kidney transplantation in the UCSF Department of Surgery, is the 2010 recipient of the International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS) Award. The award came by virtue of a nominating essay submitted by Jeanette Forbes...

UCSF Medical Center's Liver Transplant Program exceeded all standards for adult transplants in an annual review by the Kaiser Permanente National Transplant Network. Outcomes data, including national benchmarks of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), were used in the review. Dr. Ronald Potts, quality...

Laurie Carlson, MSN, RN, was recently honored at the American Nephrology Nurse's Association's (ANNA) 40th National Symposium, held from April 26 - 29, 2009 in San Diego. ANNA was established in 1969 for nurses to share knowledge and best practices and to introduce novel treatments for the benefit of patients with...

On Saturday August 1st, UCSF held its annual Pediatric Transplant Picnic at McNears Beach in San Rafael, CA . Hundreds of children and their families enjoyed burgers and hot dogs and celebrated the work of the Transplant Service with face painting, music, crafts and more.

San Francisco International Film Festival, Thirteen years ago, Pat Spurgeon of the indie pop band Rogue Wave received a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, just as the band started to take off, the kidney began to fail. The feature documentary "D Tour" chronicles Pat's experience as a UCSF kidney patient including...

Nancy Ascher, MD, PhD on NPR's Forum with Michael Krasny Each day in the U.S., 19 people die waiting for donated organs. To help increase supply, some health experts and economists want to legalize the market for human organs. We take up the issue with a panel of experts.

"International Stem Cell Corporation announced today that its human parthenogenetic stem cell lines will be used in studies aimed at creating liver cells to treat human liver disease. ...... Holger Willenbring, MD, UCSF assistant professor of surgery, will direct the research. "The fact that Dr. Willenbring and...

Dr. Nancy Ascher and Dr. Holger Willenbring were interviewed by PBS NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michaels about the transformation of embryonic stem cells into new liver cells as a treatment for patients.

UCSF News reports on the the difficult choices that patients, families and doctors face because of the shortage of donated organs for transplantation. A difficult conundrum for the nation's transplant patients was aired September 22 when the news program California Connected featured UCSF's Liver Transplant...

"Of all the things for a married couple to bicker about, Nancy Ascher and John Roberts have hit on a first -- a pulsing human liver. To be precise, they are standing forehead to forehead with a man splayed out between them. Roberts wants more of his liver to take next door to a waiting recipient. Ascher wants more...