Temple’s Kidney Transplant Team and Living Kidney Donor Program are the experts in supporting patients through evaluation, transplantation, donation, and long-term treatment. That’s why over 100 nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals gathered to learn from them at Kidney Transplant Symposium 2025: Navigating Through Transplant.
This year’s conference focused on the continuum of transplant care, with an emphasis on optimizing clinical management, patient education, and support before and after surgery. Velma Scantlebury, MD, FACS, GCM, the first African American female transplant surgeon in the United States, delivered the keynote on racial disparities in transplantation, while an expert panel discussed overcoming barriers to transplant.
Antonio di Carlo, MD, CM, FACS, FRCSC reviewed transplant options and renal failure patient transplants, and Kristin E. Criner, MD explored the safety and efficacy of GLP-1 agonists in post-transplant diabetes. Living Kidney Donor Program team members John P. Mulligan, Sr., MSN, RN, M. Beth Lawrence, BSN, RN, and Carly Capano presented on living kidney donation, while their colleagues Ryan Ihlenfeldt, DNP, RN, CCRN and Diana Kline were also key in organizing the symposium.
A Life-Changing Meeting
One especially impactful session brought a previously anonymous donor, Tiffany Weigle, together with Christy King, the recipient of her kidney. Tiffany suffered more than a decade of debilitating pelvic pain before discovering she had a rare condition called Nutcracker Syndrome. After multiple hospitals denied her case for being too complex, Kenneth Chavin, MD, MBA, PhD, FACS removed her kidney in November 2024, relieving compression and easing her pain.
Tiffany chose to donate her kidney—and it went to Christy, whose pregnancy-related kidney complications had eventually progressed to complete kidney failure. A year after transplant, Christy is feeling the best she has since her 20s and enjoying life with her kids.
Christy and Tiffany met for the first time at the symposium. Tiffany was thrilled to see how well Christy was doing, and they agreed that their positive outcomes were a testament to the power of organ donation—and the transplant team at Temple Health.