The Vanderbilt Transplant Center performed a record number of solid organ transplants in fiscal year 2024 — 809 life-saving procedures among its adult and pediatric programs. The adult program performed 760 transplants, and the pediatric program completed 49 transplants during the fiscal year, which ran from July 2023 until the end of June 2024.
“This is another important milestone in a long proud history at the Vanderbilt Transplant Center in terms of the quality of care and the number of patients we have helped. Congratulations to the many professionals in many different roles who have made it possible to accomplish this record,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy CEO, Chief Health System Officer and a former director of the Transplant Center.
Vanderbilt’s adult heart, lung, liver and kidney transplant programs individually had record fiscal years, with 150 heart transplants, 90 lung transplants, 180 liver transplants and 333 kidney transplants. In addition, adult transplant teams performed three heart/lung transplants and four kidney/pancreas transplants.
“Year after year, through new ideas and innovations, the Vanderbilt Transplant Center is able to perform record numbers of transplants and give new life to those on the waiting list,” said Heidi Schaefer, MD, professor of Medicine and medical director of Adult Solid Organ Transplant. “I am proud to be a part of this team and appreciate the hard work by so many to make this happen. As one of the leading transplant centers in the country, our record of expertise and excellence allows us to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.”
Pediatric transplant teams with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt performed a record 26 liver transplants in addition to 14 kidney transplants and nine heart transplants.
VUMC has exceeded 13,000 total transplants of all organs since its first kidney transplant in 1962.
It takes a highly specialized, multidisciplinary team of about 150 people to work on a single transplant. The transplant teams include physicians in each organ specialty, surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists, intensivists, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, social workers, financial coordinators, nutritionists, organ procurement coordinators, preservationists and operating room staff, among others.
“While the numbers are impressive, it is so important not to lose sight of the fact that each one of those transplants is potentially a life saved and/or improved dramatically,” said Joseph Magliocca, MD, professor of Surgery and director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. “There is always more work to do as our goal is to help as many patients with end-stage organ disease as possible. I am so proud and humbled to be a part of this amazing team.”
