BayCare Establishes Organ Transplant Program

TAMPA, Fla., March 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- BayCare announced today that it is developing a solid organ transplant program at its St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa in response to West Central Florida's unmet needs.

"Every year, dozens of our neighbors leave our region to receive the transplant services they need to live fuller, healthier lives," said BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners. "Our neighbors deserve better and BayCare is committed to providing the highly specialized services they need so they can receive care close to home."

BayCare anticipates beginning its program in 2027 with kidney transplants. A 2024 study demonstrated an unmet need in the 12-county catchment area that BayCare serves. The study estimated that 570 people annually in West Central Florida should have received a kidney transplant. But in the previous four years, the annual number of local residents who received kidney transplants close to home ranged between 320 and 385.

BayCare is developing the program with Northwestern Medicine, following a strategic collaboration announced in June 2025 to help BayCare expand access to high-specialty services in the region. The Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center is a nationally recognized destination for abdominal organ transplantation and a federally designated center of excellence, consistently meeting high-quality, federally regulated performance metrics. Driven by innovation and a commitment to advancing transplant care, Northwestern Medicine has achieved multiple breakthroughs, including several successful awake kidney transplants.

"We are proud to support BayCare as it establishes this vital program for the West Central Florida community," said Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, transplant surgeon and director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center. "Our teams bring deep experience in building and sustaining high-performing transplant services, and we look forward to sharing that knowledge to help BayCare accelerate its capabilities."

About BayCare

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit academic health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals, including a children's hospital, and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. The system is West Central Florida's largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services and its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of the largest in the region. BayCare's diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one of Florida's largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. BayCare's mission is to improve the health of all it serves through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit BayCare.org. 

About Northwestern Medicine

For more information about Northwestern Medicine's transplant programs, visit Organ Transplant Center | Northwestern Medicine.

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SOURCE BayCare Health System