Department of Surgery
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Specialties

Carrie Thiessen, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

  • Transplantation Surgery

thiessen@surgery.wisc.edu
(608) 263-9903

Education

  • MD, Yale University
  • PhD, Harvard University
  • Resident, Yale University, General Surgery
  • Fellowship, University of California San Francisco, Abdominal Transplant Surgery

Dr. Thiessen provides a wide range of services including Liver Transplant, Kidney Transplant, Pancreas Transplant.

Research Interests

Dr. Thiessen’s research goals include the development of an independently funded research program aimed at identifying strategies to increase living kidney donation and the examination of ethical issues surrounding organ transplantation.

Dr. Thiessen and Dr. Neidlinger received a grant award from Donate Life Wisconsin to support a project evaluating the University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation program’s practice of having pre-procurement conversations. Read more here.

Dr. Thiessen was awarded a 5-year, $956,000 career development award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Read more here.

Dr. Thiessen’s Lab

Recent Publications

  • Donor-Derived Ehrlichiosis Caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis from Living Donor Kidney Transplant.
    Scolarici MJ, Kuehler D, Osborn R, Doyle A, Schiffman EK, Garvin A, Villalba JA, Ramos CJ, Paddock CD, Annambhotla PD, Taylor M, Salzer JS, Saddler C, Thiessen C, Kandaswamy R, Odorico J
    Emerg Infect Dis 2025 Mar; 31(3): 587-590
    [PubMed ID: 40023815]

  • How Anticipation of Agent-Regret Can Undermine Clinical Decision-Making.
    Thiessen C, Schwarze ML, Ubel PA
    Am J Bioeth 2025 Feb; 25(2): 26-28
    [PubMed ID: 39878723]

  • Pre-Transplant Hypoalbuminemia Is Not Associated With Early Key Outcomes Among Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplant Recipients.
    Fedorova E, Nehring Firmino S, Kaufman DB, Odorico JS, Aufhauser D, Thiessen C, Al-Adra DP, Mandelbrot D, Astor BC, Parajuli S
    Transpl Int 2025; 38: 14091
    [PubMed ID: 39906535]

  • Navigating challenges in recipient selection for end-chain kidneys.
    Garg N, Thiessen C, Garonzik-Wang J, Mezrich J, Mandelbrot DA
    Am J Transplant 2025 Mar; 25(3): 471-475
    [PubMed ID: 39490413]

  • Ethical considerations of conditional directed living donation-A North American perspective.
    Lee-Riddle GS, Thiessen C, Parent B, Goldberg A, Jones JL, Gordon EJ
    Am J Transplant 2025 Jan; 25(1): 223-224
    [PubMed ID: 39326852]

All Publications on PubMed