Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has been recognized in the Congressional Record for establishing the world's first and largest pediatric transplant center and for its 25 years of service.

The acknowledgement was introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills. In the 25 years since it was established under transplant pioneer Dr. Thomas E. Starzl, what is now known as the Children's Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation has performed more than 2,200 transplants.

The center also is a leader in developing strategies to manage organ rejection and, in many cases, to allow surgeons to wean young patients from steroids after surgeries.

As one of the leading pediatric transplant centers in the world, doctors at Children's perform more kinds of organ and tissue transplants than any other U.S. center. The hospital also has performed more pediatric heart-lung and intestine transplants than any other center in the country and is the nation's most active pediatric liver transplant center.

Many firsts in pediatric transplantation have occurred at Children's, which also has been a pioneer in using a ventricular assist device as a bridge to heart transplantation.

Research programs at the hospital also are helping to advance pediatric transplantation through clinical trials in progress in immunotherapy, transplantation tolerance, organ preservation, bioengineering, living intestine transplants and post-transplant therapies.