Northwell Health has received approval to launch Long Island’s first adult pancreas transplant program, according to a letter from the state Department of Health.
The Northwell Transplant Institute at North Shore University Hospital recently hosted a site visit with DOH officials, the final hurdle before opening the program to new patients.
Northwell’s pancreas program will open access to patients across the greater New York and southern Connecticut, with multiple ambulatory locations.
While there are 123 pancreas transplant programs in the United States, NSUH, which has 756 licensed beds and treats more than 90,000 patients each year, is one of just 59 adult transplant centers nationwide that offer heart, kidney, liver, lung and pancreas programs under one roof, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That coordination of care, along with a state-of-the-art surgical pavilion and world-renowned surgeons, makes the Northwell Transplant Institute a leader in patient outcomes.
“Northwell now consistently performs more than 200 kidney transplants a year with excellent outcomes. The goal has always been to bring pancreas transplantation to Long Island and marry these similar disciplines,” said Dr. Nabil Dagher, senior vice president and director, Northwell Transplant Institute. “We’ve attracted some of the best nephrologists and surgeons in the world, true experts in kidney disease and diabetes. Adding pancreas transplantation to the Northwell Transplant Institute’s already robust programs will further strengthen the care we deliver to all patients.”
Meeting the demand: Northwell’s commitment to transplant patients
The United Network for Organ Sharing currently lists over 120,000 Americans in need of an organ transplant, including more than 800 awaiting a pancreas and another roughly 2,500 seeking a combination kidney/pancreas transplant as of Dec. 21.
Nearly 45,000 organ transplants have been performed nationwide so far this year, yet the number of people needing a new organ keeps growing.
The Northwell Transplant Institute recently earned CMS recertification for several of its programs without a single deficiency, a testament to its distinction, broad reach, and outstanding performance. Northwell started performing adult kidney transplants at NSUH in 2007 and established its pediatric kidney transplant program at Northwell’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park in 2017.
Dr. Niraj Desai,, director of Northwell’s Center for Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, arrived at Northwell in 2024 to oversee kidney transplant and with the intent of launching the pancreas program. Desai was previously at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., where he served as director of its kidney and pancreas transplant programs.
“The mission is to bring greater access to people in need, whether that’s through making more organs available for transplantation — which we’ve been working toward — or creating new pathways to receive a life-saving transplant,” said Desai. “We’ve pushed to expand the age and criteria for organ donation. I’m excited that we can open pancreas transplant to a new, underserved population.”
Northwell’s pancreas transplant program brings life-changing care to New Yorkers facing advanced diabetes. A pancreas transplant can eventually be required in patients with severe, hard-to-manage Type 1 diabetes (and sometimes Type 2).
It’s often performed alongside a kidney transplant and can restore natural blood sugar control and significantly reduce or eliminate the need for insulin, leading to a better quality of life.
“Kidney transplantation has risen in recent years, driven by greater awareness of its benefits and an increased availability of donated organs,” said Vinay Nair, medical director, Northwell’s Center for Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation. “Unlike kidney transplantation, pancreas transplantation has remained stagnant, largely due to a lack of public knowledge and an insufficient number of centers offering the procedure. Our new program seeks to mitigate these challenges by both enhancing awareness and establishing local availability for pancreas transplantation.”
The Northwell Transplant Institute offers organ transplant care for adults with organ failure in need of a new heart, lung, liver, kidney, or pancreas, and children in need of a new heart or kidney.
The institute’s committed and highly trained team of medical and surgical transplant specialists uses innovative and collaborative approaches to improve outcomes and access to transplantation for patients with all stages of end-stage organ failure.
Transplant procedures are performed at two top-ranked hospitals with advanced surgical capabilities and specialty-trained staff – North Shore University Hospital and Cohen Children’s Medical Center.
The transplant institute has an expansive ambulatory network to enable access for patients close to home. Nearly 45,000 solid organ transplants have taken place across 250 transplant hospitals in the United States to date in 2025, including more than 400 at Northwell alone, according to the OPTN.
