Pinson, who is stepping away from his role as Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Office for VUMC on June 30, was a pioneer in the field of liver transplantation, founding the Vanderbilt Liver Transplant Program and establishing multiple transplant residency and nurse practitioner programs.

She was turned down by multiple transplant centers between Honolulu and Nashville, deemed too sick, before the Vanderbilt Lung Transplant Program accepted her as a patient.

The OPTN is a unique public-private partnership that links all professionals involved in the U.S. donation and transplantation system.

VUMC has been working on multiple tracks to provide more pathways for nurses, including people who grew up with little exposure to nursing.

Shaffer led the kidney transplant program to become one of the largest in the nation and made significant contributions to clinical care, research, teaching and service.

The findings give patients and clinicians have another reason to screen for and treat depression in order to prevent potential future heart failure.