Dr. Sunil Patel Leads UMC Transplant Center to Record-Breaking Year

Since joining the UMC Center for Transplantation as program director in 2020, Dr. Sunil Patel has worked alongside his colleagues at Nevada’s first and only transplant center to significantly expand access to life-saving kidney transplants. During the most recent fiscal year, the UMC Center for Transplantation performed 154 transplant procedures, more than tripling the annual number of transplants recorded in recent years.

“We have built an incredible team of transplant experts who remain dedicated to building upon our strong foundation and meeting the health care needs of our community,” Dr. Patel says. “As a result of this dedicated team, we’re evaluating patients earlier and working to reduce the time spent on the waiting list for kidney transplants. We have also expanded the criteria for transplant recipients, allowing our team to provide life-saving transplants for a larger number of Nevadans.”

In the past, many patients were ineligible for transplants based solely on their age or body mass index, even if they were otherwise healthy. To help a larger population of patients, Dr. Patel and his colleagues recently expanded the BMI limit from 35 to 45, while evaluating patients up to 80 years old for transplants. Patients who fall within the expanded criteria are no longer automatically disqualified. Dr. Patel explains that the UMC Center for Transplantation assesses each prospective organ recipient on a case-by-case basis, analyzing a variety of health factors to promote the best possible outcomes.

While BMI plays a key role in a person’s overall health, a higher BMI has not been shown to affect outcomes for kidney recipients. Kidney failure patients with higher BMIs often fall into a vicious cycle: they are not eligible to receive a transplant as a result of their weight, but without a transplant, many are unable to regain the necessary mobility and energy to lose weight.