UAMS Health is the only facility in Arkansas that offers adult liver, kidney or kidney-pancreas transplants. UAMS performed the state’s first kidney transplant in 1964, the first kidney-pancreas transplant in 1991, and Arkansas’ first liver transplant in 2005. In 2024, UAMS performed 197 transplant surgeries.
A January 2024 report by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) ranked UAMS’ kidney transplant program fourth nationally, behind programs in New York, Florida and Cincinnati, respectively. All four institutions received five bars for both speed and survivability; however, the rankings also consider patient volume, and UAMS treated 163 kidney transplant patients, while the highest ranked institution treated 278.
In September 2023, UAMS resumed performing kidney-pancreas transplants. Arkansans in need of pancreas transplants previously had to travel to Memphis, Dallas or St. Louis for care. Now, UAMS surgeons perform transplants on the main Little Rock campus and provide preliminary and follow-up care in Little Rock and a growing network of satellite clinics in Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Texarkana, Pine Bluff, Fort Smith and Helena-West Helena.