OHSU’s transplant program has more than 60 years' experience and performed the first kidney transplant on the West Coast. You will train as a member of our clinical faculty with seven highly skilled, dedicated surgeons at OHSU and Portland VA Medical Center, Oregon’s only multi‑organ transplant centers. You will gain broad experience in: 

• Abdominal organ transplantation
• Hepatobiliary (HPB) surgery
• Surgical oncology 

Through the training, you will provide transplant and surgical care for patients from Oregon, southern Washington, Idaho, northern California and across the western United States. Essential and innovative transplantation procedures and techniques you’ll practice include: 

• Living and deceased organ donation of the liver, kidney and pancreas
• Donor recipient procedures for these organs
• Normothermic regional perfusion
• Machine perfusion 

By the end of the two-year fellowship, you will meet requirements for certification in living donor nephrectomy and specialty training in hepatobiliary surgery.  

Fellows spend the second half of the year on liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. They also care for hepatobiliary patients.  

Fellows continue to gain expertise in first-year areas, with an additional focus on pancreatic surgery. The second year includes: 

• Six months in liver and hepatobiliary work
• Three months in kidney and pancreas training
• Three months in dedicated hepatobiliary and pancreatic study  

The fellowship also includes a two- to four-month rotation on the surgical oncology service. 

Visit our listing on the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) website. To qualify, you must: 

1. Possess U.S citizenship or lawful permanent resident status. We cannot sponsor any visas.
2. Obtain an unlimited M.D. or D.O. license in the state of Oregon. Please refer to the Oregon Medical Board for the most current requirements.
3. Be a graduate of, or on track to graduate from, an ACGME-accredited general surgery residency program (or Canadian equivalent). 

C. Kristian Enestvedt, M.D., FACS, is the program director and professor of surgery with the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplantation. Dr. Enestvedt is interested in clinical and basic science research related to ischemia and reperfusion, complications in transplantation, new techniques in hepatic surgery and outcome analyses.

Alexandra Bolognese, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, is the associate program director. Dr. Bolognese joined the OHSU team in 2022. She specializes in liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation.  

Q. I am legally authorized to work in the United States, but I have not completed any clinical training in the U.S. or Canada. Am I eligible for the fellowship?

A. No. To qualify for an unlimited medical license, you must have completed at least one to three years (depending on the location of the medical school) of clinical practice in the U.S. or Canada.

Q. I attended an international medical school that is ECFMG certified. I completed my general surgery residency at an ACGME-accredited program in the U.S., and I have passed USMLE steps 1 to 3. I will need a visa sponsorship, however. Am I eligible for the fellowship? 

A. No. OHSU cannot sponsor visas for Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery fellows. 

Q. Are fellows in this program part of the OHSU House Officers Union?  

A. No. Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery fellows are hired as instructors of surgery and are not considered House Officers. House Officers are trainees in ACGME-accredited programs only. 

Q. Is this program accredited? 

A. Yes, we are fully accredited by the Transplant Accreditation and Certification Council.