Dr. Ramon Villamil had just graduated from medical school in Cuba when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. That almost brought down the island's economy, which was heavily reliant on its Russian benefactors.

Born into a family of doctors -- a surgeon for a father and a pediatrician for a mother -- Dr. Villamil entered the "family business" at the moment when his country needed his services most.

"The Soviet Union had been Cuba's biggest trading partner and when it collapsed, Cuba's economy crashed. Its public health system was falling apart when the World Health Organization brought us in to help them rebuild," said Kathleen Hower, executive director of Global Links.

The Garfield-based organization, which collects and redistributes hospital supplies to needy countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, has been immersed in the Cuban public health system since 1994, said Ms. Hower.

And that is why Global Links arranged for Dr. Villamil, now chief surgeon and director of the transplant center at Hospital William Soler in Havana -- the preeminent pediatric surgery center in Cuba -- to visit Pittsburgh this week to observe transplant surgeons and the medical staff at Children's Hospital.

"It started when we were in Cuba early this year assessing the need for medical equipment. When we met with the transplant team, they were more interested in visiting Pittsburgh to see for themselves and understand why Pittsburgh is the transplant center of the world," said Ms. Hower, who co-founded Global Links in 1989.

Dr. Villamil will be accompanied by a team of doctors and a surgical nurse. The team, comprised of Dr. Luis Orlando Rodriguez, a urologist and general director of Hospital William Soler, Dr. Silverio Garcia, a gastroenterologist, Dr. Alioth Fernandez Valle, chief of anesthesia, and Daisy Garcia Gutierrez, a surgical nurse, was especially excited to meet UPMC transplant pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl and his team.

"We are very glad that we had a chance to meet Dr. Starzl and the staff of doctors and nurses who work in the transplant center here," Dr. Villamil said. "They are the most experienced transplant professionals in the world and we have learned a lot from them this week."

A key aspect of any surgery, particularly transplant surgery, is the attention to detail and the medical protocol involved in the procedure, said Dr. Villamil, whose team witnessed a liver transplant at Children's Hospital and also examined other aspects of medical service at UPMC Presbyterian.

A pediatric surgeon by training, Dr. Villamil said he was specifically interested in the cohesion of the UPMC transplant team, which he said has earned worldwide recognition because of its rather smooth operation.

"We saw how the system works here, from in-patient to out-patient service and how the transplant team prepares itself. That is a very important part of the process," said Dr. Villamil, adding that his team plans to implement many of the practices and procedures they saw at UPMC.

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