BETHESDA, Md.  –   Adam Keller is a retired Navy air traffic controller who was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy in 2018. IgA nephropathy, also known as Berger disease, is a chronic kidney disease caused by the buildup of immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody involved in immune system function, within the kidneys. Over time, this buildup can cause inflammation and progressive kidney damage that may ultimately lead to kidney failure.

Adam and his mother Judy, a nurse, began researching options. They quickly learned about Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s Organ Transplant Service, which is a top-tier and innovative specialty program providing care to Department of War (DOW) service members, retirees and their beneficiaries.

Walter Reed’s organ transplant program is the only DOW medical treatment facility currently performing kidney transplantation.

Based on the transplant program’s high ratings, success rate and especially after speaking with the staff, they chose Walter Reed as their treatment center. In September of 2025, Judy donated one of her kidneys to her son.

“I woke up feeling amazing,” said Keller. “I had no pain. I was ready to get up and walk around. My experience was extremely good, and I only have positive things to say about Walter Reed. I’ve recommended Walter Reed to other people.”

For many patients facing life-changing diagnoses, access to a trusted and pioneering program could mean a second chance at life.

“Walter Reed has built a nationally respected kidney transplant program focused on innovation, patient safety, and exceptional donor and recipient outcomes,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Jamie Diaz Robinson, chief of the Organ Transplant Service and transplant surgeon at Walter Reed. “We are proud to be leaders in minimally invasive living donor surgery and transplantation within the Military Health System.”

Shariff McGee is the Program Director of Walter Reed’s Organ Transplant Service with extensive experience in organ donation and transplants. McGee ran the University of Maryland’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for 14 years and then served as the manager of their lung transplant program before joining the staff at Walter Reed.

“We do dozens of kidney transplants each year,” said McGee. “Walter Reed’s kidney transplant outcomes consistently meet or exceed national benchmarks reported by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).”

Walter Reed’s Organ Transplant Service is not only staffed by a multidisciplinary and highly qualified team, but they also boast the latest in sophisticated techniques and technologies to facilitate their operations.

Walter Reed is a regional leader in minimally invasive living donor kidney surgery and was the first transplant center in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) region to perform robotic living donor nephrectomy. The program has used a fully robotic donor approach for years and has helped train other regional centers in these techniques.

Unlike traditional laparoscopic donor surgery, which often requires a larger hand-assist or midline extraction incision, Walter Reed’s surgeons use a robotic approach with several small port sites and a low Pfannenstiel (“bikini-line”) incision for kidney extraction. This approach is associated with excellent cosmetic outcomes, minimal postoperative pain, and rapid recovery for living donors.

Most living kidney donors at Walter Reed are discharged home on postoperative day one and return to normal daily activities within approximately two weeks, often requiring little or no narcotic pain medication after discharge.

While robotic surgeries for removal of healthy donor kidneys are becoming more prevalent, the transplant surgeries are still primarily performed traditionally, due to the varying conditions of the receiving patient. This may not always be the case, however, according to McGee.

Robotic-assisted kidney transplantation is an emerging technique being explored at select transplant centers nationwide. “While Walter Reed has performed robotic kidney transplantation in carefully selected cases, most kidney transplants continue to be performed using traditional open techniques due to the medical complexity of many transplant recipients, including prior surgeries, obesity, vascular disease, and other chronic health conditions commonly seen in the veteran population,” said McGee.

Living kidney donation remains one of the best treatment options for patients with kidney failure, often providing better long-term outcomes and shorter wait times than deceased donor transplantation. Walter Reed’s living donor program offers excellent outcomes for both donors and recipients and continues to encourage healthy individuals to consider donation.

McGee explained, “If you need a kidney transplant but your loved one is not a match we can offer a swap.”

For donors and recipients who are medically compatible but not biologically matched, Walter Reed also participates in paired kidney exchange programs. These programs allow incompatible donor-recipient pairs to exchange kidneys with other matched pairs, expanding transplant opportunities for patients who might otherwise remain on the waiting list. Living donor kidneys often function significantly longer than deceased donor kidneys and are associated with improved patient survival and quality of life compared with long-term dialysis.

In 2023, Walter Reed received a Gold Award from Infinite Legacy – the region’s organ procurement organization serving nearly 10 million people in Maryland and the Metro DC area, recognizing Walter Reed’s performance, donor management practices, and commitment to quality standards in transplantation.

In addition to kidney transplantation, Walter Reed’s Organ Transplant Service provides outpatient dialysis services as well as liver transplant evaluation, referral coordination and post-transplant co-management in collaboration with regional academic transplant centers.

“There’s a lot of people out there willing to donate, and if you want to donate you should consider donating to a service member,” said Keller. “In the military, when you save someone’s life, chances are you’re going to get a medal. What do you think my mom, and all these other people who donate their kidneys, are doing? They’re saving lives.”

For more information about Walter Reed’s Organ Transplant Service, visit walterreed.tricare.mil/transplant or call (301) 295-4331 to speak with a transplant coordinator.