Inside Pediatrics Spring/Summer 2026

Children’s of Alabama Performs Rare Split-Liver Transplantation in Major Milestone for Pediatric Transplant Care

I n the fall of 2025, Children’s of Alabama, in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Transplantation, successfully performed a rare split-liver transplantation, marking the first use of this lifesaving technique within the Children’s and UAB partnership in nearly a decade. Split-liver transplantation, a highly complex procedure, allows a single deceased-donor liver to be divided and transplanted into two recipients located at separate hospitals. This innovative approach expands access to lifesaving organs, particularly for pediatric patients who depend on Children’s nationally recognized liver transplant program.

The operation required a coordinated effort across both institutions, incorporating advanced machine perfusion technology to preserve the donor liver and extensive logistical planning for the out-of-state donor operation. “This achievement represents the culmination of extensive preparation, education, and protocol development across multiple teams,” said Pozo Jatem, surgical director of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program at Children’s. “It involved close collaboration with the pediatric intensive care unit, hepatology, anesthesiology, pharmacy, nutrition, nephrology, and interventional radiology. It even resulted in the creation of a new intraoperative dialysis protocol to ensure this delicate procedure could be performed safely in critically ill patients.” “This successful split-liver transplantation is a significant milestone and an important step toward expanding access for many more patients on our waitlist,” said Sheikh, who also serves as surgical director of UAB’s Living Donor Liver Transplant Program. “It reflects the extraordinary dedication of our jointly staffed teams at both Children’s of Alabama and UAB.” ●

The transplant was led by UAB assistant professors of surgery Saulat Sheikh, MBBS, and Marcos Pozo Jatem, M.D., working alongside Children’s of Alabama’s

multidisciplinary transplant teams.

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