On Aug. 12, 1957, Dr. David Hume performed the first kidney transplant at the Medical College of Virginia.

The precursor to what is now the Hume-Lee Transplant Center was established in 1956 as one of the nation’s first programs in solid organ transplantation. David M. Hume, M.D., who performed Virginia’s first kidney transplant at MCV, was the program’s founding chair, followed by H.M. Lee, M.D., in 1973, Marc P. Posner, M.D., in 1997 and Dr. Levy in 2015.The center’s early team, which included Dr. Hume, Dr. Lee, Richard Lower, M.D., and others, completed work in the operating room and the lab that led to the development of surgical techniques that were adopted around the world. Their discoveries in tissue typing and immunosuppression led the way in saving lives through organ transplantation.

Dr. Hume initiated a kidney sharing system with regional hospitals, which ultimately became the United Network for Organ Sharing. Today, UNOS facilitates all organ sharing across the U.S. and is still located in Richmond.