http://www.sharonherald.com/news/upmc-to-offer-transplants-at-erie-hospital-for-first-time/article_714782fe-a26a-11e4-94b3-cfec961c4298.htmlUPMC to offer transplants at Erie hospital for first time
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will offer transplant surgeries outside the city for the first time when kidney transplants are offered at UPMC Hamot hospital in Erie this summer.
The move means transplant patients in northwestern Pennsylvania won't have to travel as far — usually to Pittsburgh or Cleveland — for the surgeries and pre- and post-operative care.
The United Network for Organ Sharing has granted interim approval for the program at UPMC Hamot, which is about 130 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Six surgeons in the medical centers kidney and pancreas transplant program will perform the Erie operations on a rotating basis.
David Gibbons, chief operating officer at UPMC Hamot, says other organ transplants are being discussed but there is no timetable on when they might be added, too.