SickKids Liver Transplant Program celebrates its 40th anniversary — and more than 800 transplants

SickKids' Liver Transplant Program is celebrating its 40th anniversary! Behind the milestone are hundreds of lives changed. 

Following the first liver transplant performed at SickKids in October 1986, SickKids’ Liver Transplant Program grew into the largest liver transplant program in Canada and one of the largest in North America. Every decade, the program’s transplant numbers have grown — representing more lives saved.  

As it celebrates its 40th anniversary, the program stands out for: 

• Performing more than 800 total liver transplants as of mid-October.  
• Increasing the use of live donor organs in liver transplantation. In the last decade, living donor liver transplants at SickKids have increased by 64 per cent, supported by a partnership with University Health Network’s Living Donor Liver Program, leading to 336 total living donor transplants.
• Boosting access through the anonymous living donor program, with the largest number of paediatric recipients of anonymous live liver transplants in North America.
• Performing 92 anonymous living donor transplants in partnership with the UHN Living Donor Liver Program.  
• Performing more than 100 liver transplants for patients from outside Ontario.
• Conducting groundbreaking research on survivorship, quality of life and long-term outcomes for patients who have received a paediatric liver transplant. This includes studies on living donor liver transplantation improving outcomes and reducing wait times and anonymous living liver donation expanding access and enhancing equity for paediatric patients.  
• Demonstrating excellence in advocacy and education while providing comprehensive care during the entire transplant journey, from assessment through recovery and long-term follow-up. 

Learn more about the Liver Transplant Program.