London Health Sciences Centre celebrates transplant milestone

Doctors cutting cake at celebration event

Dr. Nagpal and Dr. Gunaratnam cut the celebratory cake at the Multi-Organ Transplant Program 7,000 transplant milestone celebration.

February 14, 2025 

On December 18, the Multi-Organ Transplant Program (MOTP) at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reached a significant milestone of more than 7,000 transplants performed since the program’s official inception in 1972. 

“Our program has long been internationally recognized as a leading centre for transplantation,” says Dr. Dave Nagpal, Medical Co-Director of LHSC’s MOTP. “Taking a moment to reflect on the fact that we have now transformed the lives of an incredible number of patients and families is important to us. It is an opportunity to honour the incredible work our teams are currently doing, as well as acknowledge the generosity of those donors and their families who made these gifts of life possible.” 

About 200 transplants are performed at LHSC each year including kidney, liver, heart, kidney-pancreas, pancreas, and multi-organ transplantation. With exceptional patient care, innovation and research at the forefront, the program continues to expand the boundaries of what is possible, shaping the future of transplantation. 

“Working to advance the standards for transplantation has been a hallmark of our program,” says Dr. Lakshman Gunaratnam, Medical Co-Director of LHSC’s MOTP. “We see that legacy in action through our impressive history of Canadian firsts, and we are confident we will see it continue because of the close association we hold between patient care and research. I am proud of what our teams have accomplished over these more than 7,000 transplants, and look forward to continuing to build upon the broader contributions we have made as we lead improvements around organ quality and rejection prevention.

Milestones by the numbers

As of December 31, 2024, LHSC has performed 7,019 transplants, which breaks out to the following:

  • Approximately 50,000 surgical hours

  • Cumulative distance of approximately 2 million kms travelled to procure donor organs- that equates to nearly 50 trips around the earth or almost three trips to the moon and back! 

  • By organ: 

    • Kidney: 3,594

    • Liver: 2,423

    • Heart: 802

    • Kidney-pancreas: 123

    • Pancreas: 12

    • Liver-Kidney: 60

    • Liver-heart: 4

    • Heart-Kidney: 1

       

      Members of LHSC’s Multi-Organ Transplant Program celebrate achieving the milestone of more than 7,000 transplants performed over the program’s history.
      Members of LHSC’s Multi-Organ Transplant Program celebrate achieving the milestone of more than 7,000 transplants performed over the program’s history. 

       

      In Ontario, 1,400 people on average are waiting for a lifesaving organ each and every day. Currently, Ontarians are six times more likely to need an organ transplant than to become a donor, and together we can change this statistic. For more information about organ donation and to register your consent to be a donor through Service Ontario, please visit Be A Donor. For more information about LHSC’s internationally renowned Multi-Organ Transplant Program, whose research, clinical innovation, and expertise continue to improve patient outcomes, please visit our website.