The Alan G. Birtch, MD, Center for Transplant Services
Every year, more than 28,000 men, women and children in the United States receive lifesaving organ transplants (kidney transplant). The Memorial Kidney Transplant program and Surgery Services is proud to play a role to connect recipients with the kidney transplants they need.
Transplant Program History
The Kidney Transplant program was founded in 1972 by Dr. Alan Birtch, professor emeritus of surgery at SIU School of Medicine, and has provided nearly 1,000 kidney transplants to date.
This video was created as a tribute to our hospital-wide commitment to organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Information is from 2009-2012. Interviews are of Memorial Medical Center patients, however not everyone pictured was treated at Memorial Medical Center.
Learn More
Learn more about our kidney transplant program and surgery services and our transplant surgery physicians or use the menu to find information that will help you navigate the kidney transplantation process.
Some of the information presented in this transplant surgery services site is from UNOS, the National Kidney Foundation and/or Genentech USA, Inc., all highly credible resources for transplant information. For more information, or to receive a free education DVD entitled "A New Beginning: Planning for Your Transplant Journey,” call the Memorial Kidney Transplant Program and Surgery Services at 217-788-3441 or toll free at 888-864-9433.