Addenbrooke’s was the first centre in the UK and one of the first internationally to undertake transplantation of the small intestine.
The first such transplant was undertaken in 1991 and the service has gradually grown since then, now undertaking about six procedures a year. We are one of two centres in the UK to offer such a service and the only centre to conduct full multi-visceral operations where, in addition to the small intestine, several other organs are transplanted including the liver.
Over the last five years we have had excellent results and our current three year survival is over 90% which better than reported results from any centre internationally. All patients are discussed at a national multi-disciplinary meeting “The National Adult Intestinal Transplant Forum” which was founded by Addenbrooke’s and St Mark’s Hospitals and provides an excellent forum for discussing these very complex patients and is also used by the department of health to approve patients for transplantation.