A training program was organized for a team of Iranian physicians to set up Pancreas Transplantation in Iran. The team included Dr Mohammad Maddah (surgeon), Dr Mostafa Mehrabi (surgeon), and Dr Ali Mokhtarifar (gastroenterologist) who spent 3 weeks for a meeting in the US and then they came to Shreveport to participate in the activity of our transplant team.

They arrived to Shreveport on Sunday Dec. 17 and were extremely happy and appreciative of what they have experienced during this visit. They participated in all the educational activities of the department of surgery at LSU and visited several major hepato-biliary surgeries. Our colleagues here received them very well, and were surprised specially by the number of the ca. of stomach and esophagus patients that they handle in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

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In fact, they are the initial liver transplant team members from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, flew with us to Baton Rouge for multi-organ (heart, liver, pancreas, and kidneys) procurement and witnessed how a well organized organ procurement organization can function and distribute these vital organs to different patients from different centers. They observed living related kidney transplant in both the donor (laparoscopic) and the recipient. They then observed the combined pancreas-kidney transplant from deceased donor.

We also spend many hours discussing in great detail the strategic planning for starting a well functioning transplant program in Mashhad. I believe this trip should be very fruitful for our Iranian colleagues since they saw with their own eyes what a successful program should have from infrastructure of transplant organization to operating from facilities, to components of the transplant team.

They left Shreveport on Saturday, 23 of December with a lot of good memory. I wish them good luck in starting their program successfully and fast. I will be available to help them in this endure.


Hosein Shokouh-Amiri, M.D., FACS
Trustee; Network of Iranians for Knowledge and Innovation
Professor of Surgery,
Director of Willis Knighton/LSUHSC Regional Transplant Program,
Director of Living Related Liver Transplant Center,
Louisiana State University