Tower Health, the owner of Pottstown Hospital, is moving its liver and kidney transplant program from Reading Hospital to Penn Medicine, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Reading Hospital will continue to perform patient screening and pre-and post-transplant care, while surgeries will move to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in December.

“While our Transplant Institute and its skilled clinical team have produced excellent outcomes, the long-term costs associated with growing the program were not sustainable,” said P. Sue Perrotty, president and chief executive of Tower Health.

Since moving from the Hahnemann University Hospital to Reading Hospital two years ago, the program has performed five kidney transplants and two liver transplants.

Meanwhile, Penn Medicine’s program has transplanted 93 livers and 134 kidneys so far this year.

Transplant Institute currently employs ten doctors and around 25 staff, but not all doctors will get a job at the new location. Most of the staff will likely continue to work at the West Reading hospital but under Penn Medicine’s management.

Independently, Tower Health and Penn Medicine are currently working on terms of an alliance.

Read more about Tower Health and the Liver and Kidney transplant program in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Check out this video for an overview of the living kidney and liver donation experience.