The impact of transplantation on the clinical laboratory: Experience at the University of Nebraska with bone marrow and liver transplantation

The number of both bone marrow and solid organ transplantation programs has increased significantly during the past several years. The implementation of these programs and their growth have had a significant impact on the clinical laboratories that are involved in the support of these programs. Between 1983 and 1985, two major organ transplantation programs were implemented at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha. The clinical laboratories at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have seen a 217% increase in procedure volume and a 165% increase in full-time equivalents during an 8-year period from 1983 to 1991 as a result of these programs. The laboratory procedures that are performed on patients who are undergoing transplantation currently generate approximately $9 million in charges per year. In the present article, I discuss the effect of bone marrow and liver transplantation programs on the entire laboratory and individual laboratory sections.