Lahey Hospital & Medical Center Expands Organ Transplant Affiliation

Designated Lead Surgical Site for Living Donors Supporting Pediatric Patients at Boston Children’s Hospital

Burlington, MA – Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, has been designated the lead surgical site for living kidney donors providing life-saving organs to patients of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Transplant Center.

Under the expanded clinical affiliation, Lahey’s transplant team will perform all nephrectomy surgeries on living kidney donors for pediatric patients awaiting transplants at Boston Children’s Hospital. Since the program’s launch in 2025 through March 2026, Lahey has evaluated more than 20 potential donors, with eight kidneys ultimately donated to Boston Children’s patients.

The affiliation builds on a quarter-century relationship between the two hospitals. Since 2001, Lahey has performed all hepatectomies – liver resection surgeries – on adults donating a portion of their liver to pediatric patients at Boston Children’s. Lahey has evaluated more than 60 potential living liver donors, with 50 livers successfully donated through the program.

“This collaboration allows us to combine Lahey’s surgical expertise with Boston Children’s world-class pediatric care to deliver the best possible outcomes for young transplant recipients,” said Susan Moffatt-Bruce, MD, PhD, MBA, president of Lahey Hospital & Medical Center. “Lahey’s liver and kidney transplant team is among the most experienced and skilled in the country, and we are proud to apply that excellence toward furthering opportunities and outcomes for children in need of life-saving transplants.”

Through the affiliation, Lahey evaluates all potential living kidney and liver donors seeking to support a patient at Boston Children’s. Once a match is confirmed, the Lahey transplant team performs the donor surgery, and the organ is transported to Boston Children’s for transplantation. 

“Living donation is one of the most profound gifts a person can offer,” said Mohamed Akoad, MD, FACS, chair of the Division of Transplantation & Hepatobiliary Diseases at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center. “Our team is honored to play a role in helping these selfless donors give young patients at Boston Children’s Hospital a second chance at life.”

Lahey’s liver transplant program is among the largest in the country and has performed the most liver transplants in New England over the past three decades. Its kidney transplant program is also recognized as one of the leading programs in the country, known for its collaborative approach and consistently strong outcomes.

“This expanded relationship with Lahey Hospital & Medical Center significantly strengthens our ability to serve children in need of life-saving transplants,” said Heung Bae Kim, MD, Surgical Director, Kidney, Liver, & Intestine and Multi-visceral Transplant Programs at Boston Children’s Hospital. “By pairing Lahey’s exceptional expertise in living donor surgery with our specialized pediatric transplant care, we can ensure the highest level of care for our young patients, donors, and their families.”

About Lahey Hospital & Medical Center

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) is a world-renowned tertiary academic medical center known for its innovative technology, pioneering medical treatments and leading-edge research. As a physician-led hospital, LHMC offers a legacy of care and education committed to putting the patient at the center through a multidisciplinary, collaborative and team-based approach. LHMC’s research efforts and clinical trials cross numerous medical disciplines, providing patients with access to the latest options in treatment and care.

LHMC is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a healthcare system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.