I am proud to welcome you to the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute (RMTI) at Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai is one of the oldest not-for-profit hospitals in the United States and provides world-class leadership in patient care, research, and education. Located in New York City, Mount Sinai has a long history of innovation and excellence in the field of organ transplantation. Our kidney transplantation program was instituted in 1967 and since then has become one of the largest adult and pediatric kidney transplant centers in the country.

Our liver transplantation program was established in 1988 under the visionary guidance of Dr. Arthur Aufses, who chose Dr. Charles Miller to lead and develop the program. In September 1988, we were the first in New York State to perform a liver transplant when a 20-year-old gentleman with primary sclerosing cholangitis received an organ for end-stage liver failure.

RMTI has had many “firsts” over the last two decades. We were the first in New York State to perform a pediatric liver transplant, an intestinal transplant, as well as an adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant.

The foundation of Mount Sinai as a leader in liver surgery and transplantation was predicated upon its storied history in the understanding of liver diseases. In 1926, the institution appointed Dr. Paul Klemperer, who was particularly interested in hepatic histopathology, as the first full-time chairman of the Department of Pathology. Establishment of Mount Sinai as the national and international leader in liver pathology was sealed with the recruitment of Dr. Hans Popper in the late 1950s. At the time of his recruitment, Dr. Popper was known as the “Father of Modern Hepatology.” In collaboration with Dr. Fenton Schaffner, Dr. Popper published the first modern English-language textbook on the pathology of the liver, and the two were founding members of the Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Association for the Study of the Liver.

The Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute (RMTI) was inaugurated in 1998 with an endowment by a former liver transplant recipient. The establishment of a transplant institute made it possible to bring together a diverse and necessary team of health care professionals dedicated to the delivery of outstanding medical and surgical care to patients with end-stage organ diseases. Under the structure of an institute, we are able provide resources that are essential to creating an environment that fosters innovation and excellence in patient care, teaching, and research.

With the founding of RMTI, Mount Sinai established the first small bowel transplant program in New York State, developed a world-class hepatobiliary surgery program, formed a multi-million dollar research center, and created a Center for Living Donation, whose mission is to provide compassionate and unimpeachable care to those incredible people who volunteer to donate one of their kidneys or a piece of their liver to save another person’s life.

Over 40 years and 5,500 liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestinal transplants later, RMTI has a long and proven record of excellence in clinical care. We are proud to be one of the largest and most comprehensive adult and pediatric abdominal transplantation centers in the world.

Despite this legacy, we will not rest on our laurels or prior accomplishments. We remain committed to cultivating an environment of innovation and excellence in patient care, including translational research, with the goal of providing cutting-edge technology and therapies directly to our patients.

Sander S. Florman, MD
Director, The Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute