Kidney Transplant Center at HUMC Re-Opens

A year after the federal government shut it down, Hackensack University Medical Center has reopened its kidney transplant center.

Medicare shut the kidney center down last year after higher-than-anticipated rates of death and kidney failure. According to a report on northjersey.com, the hospital has brought aboard a new head of surgery, additional surgeons, and upgraded its evaluation systems to spot potential problems. Some staff will also have backgrounds in cardiology and endocrinology, the report noted.

Per the report, the first-year survival rate for patients who received a transplant between Jan. 1, 2009 and June 30, 2011 was 90.5 percent, under the 96 percent rate expected.

Hackensack University Medical Center is the only hospital in Bergen County licesned to perform kidney transplants. The patient waiting list has dropped from 300 to 220, according to the report.