Patient education is designed specifically to meet the individual needs of the patient, whether the patient is fluent in English or has language barriers, or to patients with learning disabilities or physical disabilities.
Patients receive educational information both pre- and post-operatively in the forms of written materials/pamphlets, as well as videos and recorded tapes. Pre-operative information is given to all patients during the initial consultation. Information is available for liver transplant, kidney transplant, kidney-pancreas transplant, living-donor liver transplant, and living-donor kidney transplant - including laparoscopic approach.
Information is also available on the tests that patients will need to undergo in order to be evaluated for a transplant. A detailed postoperative booklet is given to all patients that have undergone a transplant which describes the immune system, rejection, infection, medications, along with discharge instructions.
When patients are hospitalized there are also inpatient discharge teaching classes held by the transplant nurses, transplant nurse practitioners and pharmacists. Diabetic nurse educators are available to give individualized classes to patients with diabetes. There is also a detailed teaching video which is on the closed circuit televisions for patients to watch when in the hospital.
Classes and Seminars
The transplant social workers run bimonthly patient education seminars and monthly hepatitis C support groups for patients and the community at large. Staff members also lecture at referring physician hospitals, nursing schools and at dialysis centers.
The Center also sponsors an annual CME conference entitled NYU's Liver Transplant Update for physicians and health care workers. The conference discusses the complications and treatments for patients with end-stage liver disease with special emphasis on the role of liver transplantation.
Additional Resources
The Mary Lea Johnson Richards Transplant Surgery Center is dedicated to promoting organ donor awareness in conjunction with many organizations, including:
Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO)
Latino Organization of Liver Awareness (LOLA)
American Liver Foundation
National Kidney Foundation
Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program
New York Organ Donor Network
New York Center for Liver Transplantation
The following are some of the activities that the transplant team regularly participates in:
National Kidney Foundation Transplant Walkathon
The Red Ball
American Liver Foundation - "Liver Walk"
Transplant Games
Transplant Support Organization
