Clinical Operations

The Division of Nephrology's pediatric kidney transplant program within UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh remains one of the largest in the country despite the relatively small size of the city of Pittsburgh. During the 2020 calendar year, the division performed 14 kidney transplants, which was on par with previous years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.  One and three year graft survival rates continue to exceed national averages from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients national database, despite transplanting more medically complex and smaller patients.

We have the only free standing pediatric dialysis unit in Western Pennsylvania which has been awarded five-diamond Status by the Renal Network 4 for creating a culture of patient safety and for demonstrating a commitment to quality improvement.

Steroid dependent nephrotic syndrome and steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome are debilitating conditions with frequent and prolonged hospitalizations when the disease relapses. The Division of Nephrology is one of the first centers in the United States to employ Obinutuzumab for children with multidrug resistant nephrotic syndrome. Obinutuzumab is a second generation antiCD20 monoclonal antibody which was developed to overcome Rituximab resistance and more effectively deplete naive and memory B cells. Children's has so far successfully treated 9 children and young adults without further relapses.

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