It was a landmark achievement for Temple—and the moment Michael Profeto had been waiting for. On November 25th, he became the recipient of TUH’s 1,000th kidney transplant: a distinction that earned him a profile on CBS News, and a new lease on life.
“I’m finally going to be able to travel,” he says. “Since I was on dialysis, I couldn’t go anywhere. I don’t even have a passport.”
Profeto first learned he needed a kidney transplant in May of 2011, due to complications from high blood pressure. He started his transplant journey with another local health system, but after 10 years, he became frustrated with the lack of progress.
“Things weren’t going anywhere,” he says. “They were adding requirements, and it felt impossible to do what they wanted. Eventually, they told me that I was going to have to start over from the beginning. I said, ‘I’m not doing that,’ so I came to Temple.”
Profeto’s experience here has been radically different. “Everyone at Temple has always been kind and direct,” he says. “This time last year, I got a call about a kidney where I was third on the list. I figured that I was getting closer, and that the transplant could happen at any time.”
“The Cases No One Else Can Take”
“1,000 is a big number,” says Kenneth Chavin, MD, MBA, PhD, FACS, Director of the Abdominal Organ Transplant Program at Temple University Hospital. “To have impacted that many lives over our 35 years of performing kidney transplants—that means something.”
Dr. Chavin and Antonio Di Carlo, MD, CM, FACS, FRCSC, Chief of Abdominal Organ Transplant Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine and Surgical Director of Kidney, Liver, and Pancreas Transplantation and Living Donation at Temple University Hospital, performed Profeto’s transplant.
“It takes a village to make this happen,” says Dr. Di Carlo. “This is a testament to the entirety of Temple University Hospital and our commitment to serving our community. Kidney disease is increasingly prevalent, and kidney transplantation is very important for the health of our neighbors.”
Recently, TUH’s kidney transplant program has experienced tremendous growth, saving hundreds of lives across the region. “In just two years, our program has almost doubled in size, in terms of the number of transplants we perform annually,” Dr. Chavin says.
This is especially important because we serve an under-resourced patient population, many of whom would not be able to receive kidney transplants elsewhere. “Many of our kidney transplant patients face significant social, financial, and medical barriers to care,” explains nephrologist Serban Constantinescu, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. “It’s more difficult for them to receive home dialysis as compared to in-center dialysis, qualify for and remain active on the transplant list, and find a living donor.”
“At Temple, we help patients navigate the transplant process, and our surgeons are skilled enough to handle the cases no one else can take,” Dr. Constantinescu continues. “Performing 1,000 of these kinds of kidney transplants—that’s really significant.”
“I Love You—And Thank You"
For Profeto, whose procedure went off without a hitch, learning he was the 1,000th kidney transplant was a surprise. “I didn’t even know at first,” he laughs. He’s excited to be part of Temple Health’ history, but more than anything, he’s grateful.
“When I got the call, I was scared, nervous, and happy,” he says. “I was actually at the dialysis center, so I went home, changed, packed up, and came right to Temple. And everything here has been excellent. Excellent.”
For a surgery that took place just before Thanksgiving, his attitude makes perfect sense. Understandably, he feels most indebted to his donor—and he knows exactly what he would want to say to them.
“I love you,” he says. “And thank you.”
