ROANOKE, Va. – Next month, a state panel is expected to consider whether Carilion Clinic should move forward with a proposed kidney transplant program.
Right now, the closest kidney transplant facility is at UVA Health in Charlottesville -- a two-hour drive or more for many patients in the Roanoke and New River Valleys.
Two hours is the state standard for the distance patients should be from renal transplant centers.
But so far, staff from the Virginia Department of Health is recommending Carilion’s application for a Certificate of Public Nees should not move forward, citing in part opposition from UVA Health.
It told regulators that even if the program is small, “it portends significant risk to UVA, given the extensive overlap in UVA’s and Carilion’s service areas and the realities of the kidney allocation system. That overlap means that Carilion’s program would rely on diverting patients from UVA. That diversion will threaten quality staffing, UVA’s training missions and research initiatives, and the viability of many of the transplant-adjacent services that UVA provides …”
Sidney Vaught has been on home dialysis for more than six years and has to travel from to Roanoke to Charlottesville for appointments. Vaught isn’t convinced by UVA’s arguments and would welcome a transplant center closer to home, if the call comes.
“It’s not just the initial surgery; it is the care afterward,” Vaught told 10 News. “You have to go up there every couple of weeks; you have to drive that drive. It’s two hours up, two hours back. and it’s very hard for somebody like me who’s a caregiver for their 90-year-old mother.”
In a statement to 10 News, UVA Health outlined its commitment to patients in Southwest Virginia:
“UVA Health cares deeply about serving patients throughout Southwest Virginia. For over 25 years, UVA Health has been serving the Southwest Virginia transplant patient community through our “Close to Home” care model with outpatient clinics in Roanoke, Martinsville and Lynchburg, where patients can receive 90% of their transplant care locally. In 2025, UVA Health’s Transplant team will continue our expansion of these services with the addition of a fourth clinic, providing transplant care approximately twice a week to residents of Southwest Virginia. By employing team members who live and work in Southwest Virginia, UVA Health understands firsthand the importance of addressing the unique needs of a diverse community and the barriers they face in accessing care.”
Carilion had a kidney transplant center in the 1990s, but it closed only after a few years.
VDH staff acknowledged that a revived center from Carilion would reduce travel times for patients, but went on to say:
“However, it can be argued that competition in the area of organ transplantation can have a negative impact on quality and cost. There is also the possibility that a low-volume transplant center will not be able to care for the sickest individuals in need of a kidney transplant and that those sickest patients will still need to travel out of the HPR for a kidney transplant.”
The analysis also raised questions about the program’s financial viability and potential staffing.
In a statement to 10 News, Carilion said:
We submitted a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) application to the Virginia Division of COPN (DCOPN) to establish a kidney transplant program at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. If approved, it would become the only transplant program in Southwest Virginia.
The growing need for these services in our region is evident:
For 79% of kidney transplant patients in Southwest Virginia, accessing services they need requires a 2-to-4-hour drive.
The need for kidney transplants in our region is projected to increase by nearly 35% over the next five years.
As the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and major care facility serving more than 1 million patients every year, Carilion Roanoke Memorial is prepared to meet this growing community need. This would allow us to better serve our patients and their families by providing vital care close to home.
We look forward to working with DCOPN and advocating for these services. We’ll provide updates as they become available.
VCU Health in Richmond is supporting Carilion’s application and said it would enter into an agreement with the health system for organ testing services.
The state health commissioner makes the final determination on whether to approve a Certificate of Public Need application.