Care at NUH

Paediatric Kidney Transplant

2024/06/19

Paediatric Kidney Transplant

National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT) is Singapore's leading and only paedatric kidney transplant centre, with more than 700 successful transplants and outcomes comparable to international benchmarks.

Our paediatric kidney transplant team sees infants, children and adolescents up to the age of 21 who require long-term dialysis and kidney transplant. We work closely with the adult kidney transplant team to ensure that our patients transit seamlessly to adult care, and strive to provide holistic and family-focused medical care for all our patients.

Our team is experienced in the peri-transplant management of children with chronic kidney disease from a variety of causes including congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract, glomerulonephritis and hereditary renal disease. We also manage post-transplantation complications such as rejection, post-transplant infections, and related complications like post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.

The committed team of specialty nurses, social workers, psychologists and child life therapists provides children with psychological and social support at the time of transplant. Furthermore, our psychosocial team follows through with the patient and their family, allowing us to identify issues on a timely basis and provide psychological support when needed.

We have a dedicated inpatient ward and an experienced Paediatric Intensive Care Unit for our transplant patients.

Find out more about kidney failure and its treatments, frequently asked questions about kidney transplant and donating your kidney here.

Adult Kidney Transplantation

Kidney Transplant Care Team

The paediatric team at NUCOT is committed in providing holistic care to our patient throughout their transplant journey. Our team comprises paediatric nephrologists, paediatric surgeons, specialty nurses, dietitians, social workers, psychologists, child life therapists and research staff specialising in children's kidney diseases and transplantation.

Directors

Prof Yap Hui Kim

Professor Yap Hui Kim
Medical Director and Emeritus Consultant

Dr Vidyadhar Mali

Dr Vidyadhar Mali
Surgical Director and Senior Consultant

 


Clinicians

Prof Yap Hui Kim

Professor Yap Hui Kim
Emeritus Consultant

Dr Perry Lau

Dr Perry Lau
Senior Consultant

Dr Dale Lincoln Loh

Dr Dale Lincoln Loh
Senior Consultant

Dr Vidyadhar Mali

Dr Vidyadhar Mali
Senior Consultant

Dr Nyo Yoke Lin

Dr Nyo Yoke Lin
Senior Consultant

Dr Sharon Teo

Dr Sharon Teo
Consultant

Dr Lee Yang Yang

Dr Lee Yang Yang
Associate Consultant

Specialty Nurses

  • Nurse Clinician Junaidah Binte Abu Bakar
  • Senior Staff Nurse Marco Aizawa
Our Experience

To date, NUCOT has performed more than 700 successful adult and paediatric living and deceased donor kidney transplantations. We continue to provide post-transplant care and medical follow-ups at our Specialist Outpatient Clinic. We perform most of the paediatric transplants, and on average close to half of the total number of kidney transplants (both living and deceased donor kidney transplants) in Singapore annually.

In 2020, NUCOT performed 37.9% of the total kidney transplants in Singapore (both living and deceased donor kidney transplants).1

NUCOT is also a national referral centre for Singapore's deceased kidney donations and transplants. In 2020, we performed 60% of the total number of deceased donor kidney transplants in Singapore.1

Recognised by the International Paediatric Nephrology Association, NUCOT is the regional centre for training in paediatric nephrology and transplantation in Asia. As part of our outreach programme, we have established Sister Kidney Centres in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and helped them develop their local paediatric kidney transplant programmes.

1Based on 2020 annual report from the Ministry of Health, National Organ Transplant Unit.

Post-Transplant Outcomes

The first paediatric kidney transplant was performed in NUH in 1989 and since then, we have evolved into an established paediatric transplant centre in the region and internationally for both living and deceased donor transplants. Our post-transplant outcomes are well recognised and fare favourably in comparison with international benchmarks as illustrated in the tables below.

Overall Graft Survival (Living Donor, 1989 – 2021)
 1-year3-years5-years
NUCOT (n=57)98.1%93.9%91.7%
NAPRTCS194.0%88.0%83.0%

 

Overall Graft Survival (Deceased Donor, 1989 – 2021)
 1-year3-years5-years
NUCOT (n=31)90.3%76.7%76.7%
NAPRTCS188.0%78.0%71.0%

 

Overall Patient Survival (Deceased Donor, 1989 – 2021)
 1-year3-years5-years
Transplant (n=90)96.5%93.8%91.5%
Dialysis (n=167)96.1%89.0%81.5%

1North American Paediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies, 2014

Our Medical Achievements

NUCOT has established many major paediatric kidney transplant milestones over the years and some of our milestone achievements are listed below:

  • 1989 - Singapore's first living donor kidney transplant for paediatric patient
  • 1994 - Singapore's first deceased donor kidney transplant for paediatric patient
  • 1997 - Achieved National Status for Paediatric Renal Replacement Programme
  • 2010 - Singapore's first combined liver and kidney transplant for a 16-year-old patient
  • 2013 - Paediatric-en-bloc kidney transplant from the youngest donor of 18 months for a paediatric patient in Singapore
Contact Us
NUCOT
NUCOT

National University Centre for Organ Transplantation (NUCOT) provides pre and post-transplant patients with comprehensive, dedicated and individualised care. We also welcome potential living organ donors to get in touch with us.

Referrals to NUCOT

NUCOT takes in self-referrals and referrals from healthcare practitioners. Patients can do a self-referral by contacting our NUCOT clinic directly or have your primary physician refer you to us.

Click here for our NUCOT clinic's location, contact details and operating hours or to make an appointment with us.

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