Kambiz Etesami, MD, FACS, Named Division Chief of Abdominal Organ Transplantation at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has appointed Kambiz Etesami, MD, FACS, as Division Chief of Abdominal Organ Transplantation. In this role, Dr. Etesami will oversee CHLA’s nationally renowned liver, kidney, and pancreatic islet transplant programs, and will continue advancing the Division’s commitment to exceptional patient care, research innovation, and top-tier education. He previously served as CHLA’s Director of Abdominal Organ Transplantation and Surgical Director of the liver and kidney transplant programs.

“Since joining CHLA in 2017, Dr. Etesami has helped energize the pediatric liver and kidney transplant programs, driving growth in volume and nationally recognized outcomes, as well as performing the youngest infant liver transplant in the Western U.S. and CHLA’s first concurrent pediatric split-liver transplants,” says Mark Krieger, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “We could not be more thrilled to have Dr. Etesami in this new role as Division Chief as he continues to cement Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ reputation as one of the preeminent pediatric abdominal transplant centers in the country.”

Dr. Etesami also serves in the Abdominal Transplant Division at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He completed his undergraduate, graduate, and medical training in New York City, including earning his medical degree from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, then completed a multiorgan abdominal transplant surgery fellowship at Georgetown University. He is an active member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and is an associate fellow with the American College of Surgeons. His professional interests include advancing surgical techniques – including living donation and technical variant grafts, outcomes-based research, machine perfusion, and xenotransplantation – with a focus on expanding organ availability. He is deeply committed to surgical education, having trained numerous fellows and residents who themselves now serve in leadership roles throughout the nation.

CHLA’s pediatric Kidney Transplant Program is one of the most established, longest-running programs in the nation. CHLA’s Liver Transplant Program has the best pediatric liver transplant survival rates in the country, leading the nation in one- and three-year liver graft and patient survival rates according to 2025 data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Both kidney and liver transplant programs excel in performing living donor transplants for children. CHLA’s expertise in living donor transplants is a major reason why CHLA’s median wait time for a child to receive a transplant is shorter than the national average.

CHLA is also a leader in pancreatic islet transplantation and was the first hospital in Southern California to perform total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT) for children. CHLA is one of only two centers on the West Coast, and among the few nationwide, offering this innovative procedure, which significantly reduces pain and improves quality of life for children with chronic pancreatitis.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is at the forefront of pediatric medicine and is the largest provider of hospital care for children in California. Since its founding in 1901, CHLA has delivered a level of pediatric care that is among the best in the world. Ranked one of the top 10 children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles provides comprehensive and compassionate care to one of the largest and most diverse pediatric patient populations in the country. The hospital is the top-ranked children’s hospital in California and the Pacific U.S. region for 2025-26. A leader in pediatric research, CHLA is among the top 10 children’s hospitals for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles supports the full continuum of research, translating scientific discoveries into life-changing treatments for patients around the globe. As a pediatric academic medical center, CHLA is also home to one of the largest graduate education programs for pediatricians in the United States. The hospital’s commitment to building stronger, healthier communities is evident in CHLA’s efforts to enhance health education and literacy, introduce more people to careers in health care, and fight food insecurity. To learn more, follow CHLA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X, and visit CHLA.org.