Historical highlights
The transplant program at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center is in the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for volume of transplant procedures.
1968
- 1st heart transplant in the Midwest performed at St. Luke's on October 21, 1968.
1984
- Established St. Luke's Heart Transplant Program. Since then, more than 500 heart transplants have been completed at St. Luke's.
1986
- Physicians at St. Luke's implanted Wisconsin's 1st Jarvik-7 artificial heart as a bridge to transplant.
1990
- Became the 1st hospital in Wisconsin to receive Medicare approval for heart transplants.
1991
- St. Luke's became the 1st Wisconsin hospital to implant the pneumatic Heartmate, a ventricular assist device.
1992
- Received United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) approval for lung transplants.
- Performed the 1st lung transplant operation.
1994
- St. Luke's was the 1st hospital in the Midwest to implant the vented electric Heartmate ventricular assist device and the 1st to manage the care of a patient at home while his heart was being supported by the device.
1995
- St. Luke's successfully completed the Midwest's 1st heart transplant on a patient who had been living at home while his heart was supported by a vented electric Heartmate.
1998
- Received UNOS approval for liver transplants.
- Performed the 1st liver transplant operation.
1999
- Received UNOS approval for kidney transplants.
- Received Medicare approval for kidney transplants.
- Performed 1st multiple organ (kidney-heart) transplant.
- Performed 1st cadaver kidney transplant.
2000
- Performed 1st live donor kidney transplant.
2002
- 1st kidney, pancreas transplant formed
2003
- Performed 500th heart transplant operation since 1st heart transplant in 1968
- 1st simultaneous liver-kidney transplant performed
