Rounding out the pancreas transplant physician team are transplant nephrologists Jose El-Amm, M.D., and Mona D. Doshi, M.D. Since his arrival at Harper, Gruber has recruited over 20 faculty and support staff to further expand the organ transplant program.

Since West joined Gruber in October 2001, Harper has performed 115 renal transplants with excellent results, more than doubling the previous rate (20-25 per year), with a great increase in the number of living-donor kidney transplants performed. In addition to being the lead surgeon on Woods' case, West also initiated Harper's laparoscopic donor nephrectomy program for performance of living-donor kidney transplants in 2001.

Harper received its Certificate of Need (CON) from the State of Michigan in December 2002 to initiate its pancreas transplant program. Despite receiving approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing to begin the program in November, 2001, Harper could not begin evaluating and listing patients for pancreas transplantation until Michigan's CON approval process, the most stringent in the country, was completed. Nearly 30 patients have been evaluated for all three types of pancreas transplantation and seven candidates have been placed on the waiting list for the procedure.