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Mikel Prieto, M.D., transplant surgeon, Mayo Clinic Transplant Center: A transplant patient is no different than a healthy patient in most respects. At Mayo Clinic we have the tools to make things happen in a speedy way, so we can get you transplanted and get you back to life. Here we see conditions that, in many other places, a doctor like me would see only once a year. Here we see them all of the time because people come from all over the world to be treated for these unique conditions. So what's unique and strange in other places is almost commonplace here.
Raymond L. Heilman, M.D., nephrologist, Mayo Clinic Transplant Center: Kidney transplant is a very complex process, and it involves multiple disciplines. And patients who come to us need multiple disciplines. We're all here. We're all under one roof. We're really the only integrated national transplant program in the country. One common problem is you may come in for a kidney transplant and you may have a donor, say your friend, but you and your friend are not blood type compatible. One way to get around the problem is an innovative approach called paired kidney exchange.
Martin L. Mai, M.D., nephrologist, Mayo Clinic Transplant Center: Currently we're able through all three Mayo sites to pool our patients together. The match allows us to do more living-donor transplants than we would without the matching process.
Dr. Prieto: By far the most rewarding part of my job is seeing somebody who comes in sick, frequently scared and desperate, and telling them, we have a good option for you. We can fix this.
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