Ascension Sacred Heart Kidney Transplant Program

If your doctor recommends a kidney transplant to treat chronic kidney failure or renal end-stage disease, our kidney specialists and care team at Ascension Sacred Heart Kidney Transplant Program deliver comprehensive care for your physical and emotional health. We understand how emotional this time can be for you and your family. Our goal is to match you with a donor kidney as quickly as possible to help improve your kidney function and overall health.

To schedule an appointment, call our kidney transplant coordinator, 859-416-1080.

Comprehensive kidney transplant surgery care and follow-up care

At Ascension Sacred Heart, our surgeons are part of a national team of doctors, sharing best practices for kidney transplant surgery. Your surgeon is also part of the University of Florida Health kidney transplant surgery division in the University of Florida College of Medicine’s department of surgery.

At Ascension Sacred Heart, our multispecialty transplant care team includes: 

• Douglas S. Keith, MD, Medical Director and Transplant Nephrologist
• Surgeons – Alp Demirag, MD, Surgical and Program Director and Wen Xie, MD, Transplant Surgeon and Urologist
• Coordinators for transplant and living donor
• Program Manager
• Transplant coordinators
• Living donor coordinator
• Dietitian
• Financial coordinator
• Licensed Clinical Social worker
• Pharmacist
• Referral coordinator

Referral to Ascension Sacred Heart Kidney Transplant Program

Once your nephrologist or primary care doctor sends us a referral, we’ll reach out to you to schedule a consultation. At your first appointment, we provide a thorough evaluation of your physical and emotional health. Working together, our kidney specialists review your tests and medical history to create a kidney transplant care plant that is right for you. If you need additional imaging, lab testing, pharmacy or specialists, we’ll help connect the dots for your care. We also offer virtual and in-person education classes to help prepare you for transplant surgery and for what to expect after getting a kidney transplant. The online classes can be scheduled at your convenience.

Your transplant coordinator is here to help get answers to your questions and connect you with services that support your recovery after having a kidney transplant. 

Ascension Sacred Heart’s kidney donor program offers options for transplantation

Only one donated kidney is needed to replace two failed kidneys, making living-donor kidney transplantation an option. Ascension Sacred Heart Kidney Transplant Program provides the living kidney donor option to help reduce your wait time to surgery. Being a kidney donor is based on blood type, crossmatch and HLA testing and overall good health – one healthy kidney filters enough blood to keep your body functioning normally. If a family member or other individual is interested in being a kidney donor, call our living kidney donor coordinator, 850-416-1080.