Texas Border Business
Something significant is happening in medicine in the Rio Grande Valley. A level of specialized care that once routinely required Valley patients to travel hundreds of miles is now being delivered close to home — and earning recognition among leading kidney transplant programs in Texas and across the nation. DHR Health Transplant Institute has reached No. 2 in Texas and No. 16 nationally, marking an important moment for advanced medicine in South Texas.
Behind that achievement is a team of physicians building a transplant program that combines surgery, nephrology, patient selection, post-transplant care, and long-term medical management. Pictured on the cover are Dr. Hector Crespo, Transplant Surgeon; Dr. Jose Almeda, Transplant Surgeon; Dr. Karen Pineda, Transplant Surgeon; Dr. Sridhar Allam, Medical Director and Transplant Nephrologist; Dr. Eduardo Fernandes, Transplant Surgeon; and Dr. Jose Valdes, Transplant Nephrologist.
The numbers reflect the program’s remarkable growth. Established in 2017, DHR Health’s kidney transplant program performed a record 101 kidney transplants in 2025 and has completed more than 160 since the beginning of 2025. Approximately 150 patients are currently on its kidney transplant waiting list. But as Dr. Allam explains in our exclusive Mega Doctor feature, success in transplantation is measured by much more than surgical volume.
This story matters because of what these achievements mean for families across the Rio Grande Valley. Kidney transplantation requires far more than an operation. Patients need evaluation, sophisticated surgery, medication management, monitoring, and lifelong follow-up. Having those services available in the Valley can reduce the tremendous burden of repeatedly traveling to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, or other major medical centers for complex care.
In this edition of Mega Doctor News, readers will learn how DHR Health built the medical infrastructure and multidisciplinary team needed to compete nationally, why access to transplantation can be life-changing for patients with kidney failure, and how the institute is preparing for its next stage of development. The story also examines DHR Health’s plans to expand its transplant capabilities, including liver and pancreatic surgery, as the Valley continues building its capacity for increasingly complex medicine.
We invite you to turn the page and read our exclusive Mega Doctor cover story. The No. 2 ranking in Texas and No. 16 national recognition are impressive achievements, but the larger story is what’s happening here at home: the Rio Grande Valley is demonstrating that nationally competitive advanced medical care can be created, expanded, and delivered in South Texas.
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