Providing new hope and improved quality of life for children with life-threatening illnesses, the Siragusa Transplantation Center offers world-renown specialists and the latest technologies for comprehensive care in five pediatric programs for newborns to young adults. Patients are cared for by uniquely qualified teams with state-of-the-art resources for multisystem organ failure and other complicated conditions. A multidisciplinary approach to care before, during and after transplant gives patients and families a continuous care path and clear communications, which is vital when patients are ready for the next phase of therapy.
The center performs about 50 solid organ and 75 stem cell transplants each year and includes:
Key to the success of the Siragusa Transplantation Center is its skilled and experienced leadership. Today the center is co-directed by two pediatric specialists, both of whom have pioneered procedures now used around the world.
- Pediatric surgeon Riccardo Superina, MD, holds dual credentials in both pediatric surgery and transplantation surgery, making him one of few such experienced physicians in the country today.
- Pediatric hepatologist Peter Whitington, MD, played a leading role in developing the intricate surgical techniques that have made living-donor pediatric liver transplants possible. He also currently serves as the principal investigator in a multi-year, multi-center study funded by the National Institutes for Health. This research aims to improve future care of children with biliary atresia, currently the leading indicator for pediatric liver transplants in the United States.