Corewell Health East's liver transplant program has tallied the best one-year survival rates in the state and second best one-year graft survival rates in the nation.
It also consistently ranks among the highest quality liver transplant programs in Michigan and the United States, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, or SRTR, an organization that maintains a comprehensive database on all solid organ transplantation in the nation.
“While quantity drives a lot of transplant programs to expand and grow, we have been lucky enough to have a team that prioritizes quality outcomes, first by selecting the most appropriate patients and then the right organs for those patients,” said Damanpreet Bedi, M.D., section head of the Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital Transplant Center in Royal Oak.
In 2023, Corewell Health surgeons performed 44 liver transplants. Since the inception of its liver transplant program in 2010, there have been more than 320 transplants.
In addition to the center’s quality-over-quantity philosophy, program leaders credit successful outcomes to the following:
Individualized therapies: Tailoring treatment to individual patients and their specific circumstances equates to better outcomes and greater patient satisfaction.
Dynamic approach: Careful attention and protocols for patients who may not typically be considered transplant candidates, such as those with alcohol-induced liver injury or liver cancer.
Dedicated transplant physicians and ancillary staff: Relying on physicians and other transplant care providers who are employed by the hospital system and focused solely on transplantation results in greater consistency and a more cohesive team.
“It takes an entire team to sustain this consistent level of quality in a program,” said M. Rasm Al Sibae, M.D., medical director of Corewell Health’s liver transplant program. “We have outstanding surgeons and physicians, but the clinical support team — both inpatient and outpatient — also is incredibly dedicated and it shows.”