Uruguay’s liver transplantation program considered a model.

(From left) Claus Niemann, Ryutaro Hirose and Peter Stock, UC San Francisco

Considered a model throughout Latin America, Uruguay’s liver transplantation program is marked by low patient mortality and high organ donation rates. That success is due in part to a UCSF team that shared its expertise and helped build the program in the small South American country starting back in 2007.

Previously, Uruguay had tried to go it alone, but high mortality rates soon caused doctors to shut the program down.

After their initial visit, the UCSF transplant team, including anesthesiologist Claus Niemann, M.D., and surgeons Ryutaro Hirose, M.D., and Peter Stock, M.D., Ph.D., continued to consult with the team in Uruguay, guiding them through everything from patient selection procedures to the use of immunosuppressive medications following surgery. When it came time for Uruguayan doctors to conduct their first liver transplant since revamping the program, UCSF doctors oversaw the operation by dialing in via Skype.

“UCSF has cultivated a terrific relationship with Uruguay, and an enormous wealth of information has been shared along the way,” Neimann said. “I have been so thrilled to see this country succeed at something it was committed to achieve.”

The UCSF team has been particularly impressed by Uruguay’s high organ donation rates, which exceed those in the United States, Stock said.

According to Karina Rando, M.D., a Uruguayan anesthesiologist who worked closely with the UCSF team to develop the program, children begin to learn about the process of organ donation at a young age.

“By educating people about the importance of organ donation very early on, we have been successful in demonstrating that being an organ donor is a very noble act,” Rando said.

Last week, the UCSF team returned to Uruguay, this time joined by Nancy Ascher, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery, for a three-day conference that brought together medical professionals from eight Latin American countries that aspire to build thriving liver transplant programs of their own. Participating countries included Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela.

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