The NYU Transplant Center has been at forefront of organ transplantation for years and was one of the first in the country to implement a living-donor liver transplant program. Our staff is currently involved in more than a half-dozen clinical trials, including studies of:

• The efficacy of two new anti-viral medications in patients chronically infected with hepatitis B

• Various medications for preventing recurrence of hepatitis C in liver transplant patients

• A new tissue sealant, for use in patients undergoing liver resection, that uses components of a patient's own blood to create customized sealants, thus avoiding the possibility of contamination from donated blood products

• A steroid-free immunosuppressant treatment regimen for liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C

• The use of plasmapheresis for the treatment of fulminant hepatic failure

In addition, we are actively involved in various educational activities, including a two-year American Society of Transplant Surgeons-accredited fellowship in liver and kidney transplantation, offered in conjunction with SUNY Downstate Health Sciences Center.

Members of the Transplant Center routinely lecture at hospitals, nursing schools, and dialysis centers. We also offer a continuing medical education course, "Annual Update in Liver Transplantation," which is designed for practicing hepatologists, gastroenterologists, and primary-care physicians who treat patients with liver disease.