When James V. Guarrera, MD, joined Jefferson last summer as the Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplantation Surgery and executive director of the Jefferson Transplant Institute, he arrived with a clear conviction about what makes a transplant program succeed.
“Transplantation is the epitome of a team sport,” Dr. Guarrera says. “My charge is to take all of the talent and dedication already present at Jefferson and continue building on it clinically and academically, including making this a destination for innovation and training the next generation of transplant surgeons.”
Since his appointment, this philosophy has been translated into measurable momentum across the Institute.
In late 2025, Dr. Guarrera and Ashesh P. Shah, MD, Surgical Director of the Liver Transplant Program, led a team including Adam S. Bodzin, MD, and Jaime M. Glorioso, MD, to perform North America’s first Living Donor Resection and Partial Liver Transplantation with Delayed Total Hepatectomy (LD-RAPID) for a patient with colorectal cancer metastases in their liver (see The Surgeon Speaks).
Dr. Guarrera also brings his own pioneering body of work in ex vivo machine perfusion – the technique of continuously circulating preservation solution through a donor liver outside the body rather than storing it on ice. He performed and published the first such liver transplant series worldwide in the early 2000s, and the approach has since transformed the field. Today, more than 70% of liver transplants nationwide use some form of organ perfusion, and Jefferson is expanding its use across all its hospital sites.
Strategic recruitment has also accelerated. Dr. Guarrera brought Grace S. Lee-Riddle, MD, MSME, along from his previous program and, in March, welcomed Anthony Watkins, MD, to Jefferson as Enterprise Director of Kidney Transplantation. A nationally recognized leader in the field, Dr. Watkins nearly doubled the kidney transplant volume at another institution, making it one of the largest programs in the country.
“Dr. Watkins’ impact at Jefferson has been immediate,” Dr. Guarrera says. “In April 2026, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital performed 18 kidney transplants – a 500% increase from April of last year. Dr. Watkins has also introduced new protocols that are expanding the utilization of deceased donor organs.”
Looking ahead, the Institute is preparing for further integration of transplant services across Jefferson Health.
Dr. Guarrera explains, “We want the Jefferson Transplant Institute to be visible nationally and internationally for clinical, academic, innovation and research excellence.”
The Surgeon Speaks
Ashesh P. Shah, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director, Division of Transplant Surgery
Surgical Director, Liver Transplant Program
“Living donor RAPID transplantation is a new surgical strategy designed to expand access to liver transplantation while keeping both donors and recipients safe.
“We transplant a small portion of liver from a living donor first, and that partial liver grows inside the recipient over time, usually about two weeks. Once it’s grown enough to function on its own, we remove the remaining diseased liver, including the cancer, in a planned second operation. This staged approach allows us to use a smaller graft and reduces our reliance on deceased donor organs.
“For patients with colorectal cancer that has spread only to the liver, LD-RAPID may offer a new chance at long-term survival when other treatments are no longer effective.”
Recommended Citation
(2025)
"Jefferson Transplant Institute Enters New Chapter of Innovation, Growth and National Impact,"
Jefferson Surgical Solutions: Vol. 21:
Iss.
2, Article 1.
Available at:
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jss/vol21/iss2/1
James V. Guarrera, MD (center), joined the Jefferson Transplant Institute last year and recruited Anthony Watkins, MD, and Grace Lee-Riddle, MD, MSME, to the growing transplant team.