Department of Transplant Medicine @ Ospedale San Raffaele

The organ transplantation activity of the San Raffaele Research Hospital began in 1985, thanks to the close collaboration between the Medicine and Surgery Units for the launch of the kidney and pancreas transplant programme in the diabetic patient.
The first kidney-pancreas transplant in Italy was also performed in the same year. The launch of the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit later, allowed to expand the activity to nephropathies of non-diabetic origin.

The opening of the pancreatic islet isolation laboratory in the 1980s allowed the launch of the Langerhans islands transplantation programme in humans in 1989. In the same year, the first pancreatic islet transplant was carried out, for which the San Raffaele Research Hospital is the leading centre in Italy and Europe even today.

The surgical activity related to transplants is coordinated by Dr. Carlo Socci, Head of the Transplantation and Metabolic Surgery Unit. Meanwhile, the Transplantation Medicine Unit is accountable for the internal aspects of transplantation activities (patient entry, peri and postoperative clinical monitoring).
Alongside the transplant activity, within the San Raffaele Hospital, an organ collection activity coordinated by the Neuro-reanimation service has also developed over time.
All the transplant activity is naturally supported by the numerous services present inside the Hospital.