Vanderbilt Transplant Center

Emily Sandhaus, RN, and Chris Schwartz, RN, are pre-transplant coordinators for the Vanderbilt Transplant Center.
January 28, 2021

Pre-transplant coordinators ‘literally on call for something every single day’

Emily Sandhaus’ phone rings in the middle of the night. The voice on the other end tells her a donor heart is available, and it’s in El Paso, Texas. She should pack a bag and report to the Emergency Department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A car will take her team to Nashville International Airport, where they will board a charter plane to recover, preserve and transport the heart back to VUMC for transplant.

By Matt Batcheldor
January 28, 2021

Vanderbilt Transplant Center achieves new record for total transplants performed in 2020

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center (VTC) established a new record in 2020 for total solid organ transplants, performing 611 life-saving procedures among its adult and pediatric organ transplant programs.

By Matt Batcheldor
January 12, 2021

VUMC now leads world in heart transplantation

Vanderbilt University Medical Center performed more heart transplants in 2020 than any other center in the world — 124 adult hearts, 23 pediatric hearts and VUMC’s first heart-lung transplant since 2006.

By Matt Batcheldor
December 17, 2020

Challenges, achievements share spotlight in 2020

The year 2020 will forever be defined by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s response to it has been nothing short of stunning.
The entire enterprise — clinical, research and education — began preparing for the pandemic’s impact even before the first cases appeared in Tennessee in March, and that dedicated commitment and unceasing effort did not waver in the long months that followed. But while COVID-19 dominated the news during 2020, there were still many other noteworthy achievements that made headlines during the year.

By VUMC News and Communications
The Liver Transplant Anesthesia team includes, from left, Clayne Benson, MD, Kevin Furman, MD, Philip Leisy, MD, and Kara Siegrist, MD.
December 10, 2020

New approach helps conserve blood products for liver transplant patients

Liver transplants have traditionally required a high volume of transfusions of blood products, which comes with several downsides. The products are costly to patients — as high as $15,000 on top of the expense of a transplant. And they are sometimes not well accepted in patients because they degrade over time and are derived from multiple patients.

By Matt Batcheldor
November 18, 2020

Collaborative Vanderbilt Lung Institute launches

By Matt Batcheldor
November 13, 2020

VUMC employee attends honor walk for her brother, becomes passionate organ donation advocate

Her brother Taylor's death was heartbreaking, but Anna Lorenz is determined to inspire others with his example
By Matt Batcheldor
October 15, 2020

Living liver donor program performs first transplant

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center's newly launched living liver donor program allows relatives to donate part of their liver to their loved one, something only possible at select centers in the country.
By Matt Batcheldor
October 14, 2020

Bacchetta named associate chair of Thoracic Surgery

Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA, associate professor of Thoracic Surgery, has been named associate chair of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Thoracic Surgery, effective Sept. 1.
By Jill Clendening
October 1, 2020

Transplant program reaches milestone 10,000th procedure

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has completed its 10,000th organ transplant, a monumental achievement representing nearly 60 years of life-saving work.
By Matt Batcheldor
September 25, 2020

In memory of Kyle

Last year, an honor walk for paramedic Kyle Fisher went viral. Now, his mother, a nurse at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital, is promoting organ donation in his memory.
By Matt Batcheldor
August 26, 2020

Four heart transplants performed in whirlwind 48 hours

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center’s cardiac surgeons transplanted four hearts in one 48-hour stretch in August, thanks to VUMC’s perfusion and organ recovery teams traveling more than 4,000 miles across the country to obtain the donor organs.
By Matt Batcheldor
August 12, 2020

Congenital heart patient receives unexpected transplant

For years, doctors told Piper Davis it was impossible to have a heart transplant. She was born with just one ventricle, or pumping chamber, instead of two. A generation ago, such patients didn’t survive into adulthood.
By Matt Batcheldor
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