More than 1,000 kidney transplants in a single year by the "Hospital do Rim" Group in Sao Paulo - Brazil.

We describe the organization of a high-volume Brazilian kidney transplant program that performed 7,833 transplants in 12 years fulfilling government expectations without compromising the care of the patients. The annual number of kidney transplants increased from 428 in 1999 to 1,048 in 2010. In our Organ Procurement Organization (6.1 million inhabitants) brain death notifications increased from 196 to 468 in 2010 and 35% became actual donors. There are 5,011 patients on the waiting list and recipient selection is based on HLA matching. A significant proportion of the recipients is of black ethnicity and had been for long time on dialysis. Over 700 first appointments for living donation are done every year. After the transplant, the majority of patients are followed locally (200-250 appointments per day). The transplant outcome among living-donor recipients is comparable to large registries but inferior outcome have been observed among recipients of deceased donor organs, though consistent improvement has been seen in more recent years. We also discuss issues related to local regulations and solutions to improve efficiency and outcomes.