HLA, Graft Survival, and the Genetics of a Better Match in Kidney Transplantation

Board-certified UCI Health transplant surgeon Robert Redfield, MD, joins the podcast to offer an inside look at the region’s fastest-growing kidney and pancreas transplant program. He explains why living donor kidney transplant is the gold standard for patients with end-stage renal disease, and how his team empowers patients to find a donor—even before dialysis begins. Redfield also discusses pancreas transplantation for diabetes, emerging immunosuppression research, and how xenotransplantation might shape the future of organ donation.

Topics Discussed:

• Living donor kidney transplant is the preferred treatment option for patients with kidney failure—offering better long-term outcomes, faster recovery, and no wait time.
• UCI Health provides unmatched donor support: living donors receive lost wage reimbursement, childcare resources, and guaranteed transplant access if they ever need a kidney in the future.
• Patients are coached on how to talk to loved ones about donation, with role-playing, scripts, and social network mapping.
• Paired kidney exchanges and advanced HLA matching techniques can find optimal matches, even when a loved one is incompatible.
• Pancreas transplant is a life-changing option for Type 1 diabetics—particularly those with hypoglycemia unawareness or brittle diabetes.
• Future breakthroughs include transplants without lifelong immunosuppression and gene-edited pig kidneys for off-the-shelf transplantation.

Connect with UCI Health physicians online at clinicalconnection.ucihealth.org, on LinkedIn @UCI Health Physicians, on Instagram @ucihealthphysicians, or at @uciphysicians on X.

Refer a patient at referralportal.ucihealth.org and learn more about ongoing clinical trials at ucihealth.org/clinical-trials.