Our researchers lead the global development of and participation in pediatric kidney transplant clinical research. We are committed to developing innovative and improved anti-rejection medication protocols with the goal of promoting optimal transplant outcomes while reducing unwanted side effects and complications. As a result of trials managed through our center, certain steroids have been eliminated from post-transplant treatment plans for some patients.

We currently participate in more active NIH-sponsored pediatric kidney transplant research protocols than any other program in the nation. Our physicians were among the earliest members of the North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study (NAPRTCS) and developed the studies and protocols that were subsequently used as the basis for the development of the Cooperative Clinical Trials in Pediatric Transplantation (CCTPT), a multi-institution collaborative research organization supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Trials designed by the CCTPT will focus on inducing long-lived graft function with and without temporary or permanent withdrawal of immunosuppression.

Additional information about our research is available on our research Web site, including a list of transplant studies currently enrolling eligible patients.

Transplant Research Center (TRC)

In 2003, Children's Hospital's Division of Nephrology partnered with Brigham & Women's Hospital to launch the Transplantation Research Center (TRC). The TRC provides a rich environment for collaboration of scientists and physicians from both institutions in the area of transplantation and immunology. The TRC is intended to speed the new knowledge and results gained from research into innovative and improved approaches to care of transplant patients.