United Network for Organ Sharing

December 20, 2022

Last Christmas, I knew a liver transplant was my only chance to survive. This holiday, I’m alive because of the ultimate gift.

It never leaves my thoughts that someone I don’t know made it possible for me to still be here.

By John Howser
November 13, 2019

Launch of living liver transplant program to increase availability of organs

VUMC is launching a living liver donor transplant program, significantly increasing the number of available organs for life-saving transplants.

By Matt Batcheldor
April 23, 2019

Transplant centers, patients unite to stop new organ sharing policy that threatens longer waits for a liver

Vanderbilt University Medical Center and 13 other highly regarded liver transplant centers have filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping Federal policy changes that are slated to take effect Tuesday, April 30, that will affect thousands of patients across the Southeast and Midwest waiting for donor livers.

By John Howser
September 22, 2016

Patient’s kidney transplant a ‘bittersweet’ family affair

Turning tragedy into triumph is something Khris Downing is learning to do. He’s getting a lot of practice, as he is alive today because of a life-saving organ donation from his older sister, Geraldine Williams, who died on July 26.

By Jessica Pasley
Large vs small sphere
September 15, 2016

Larger transplant centers produce improved outcomes: study

How many heart transplant programs do we really need? That was a question posed by a group of investigators, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Ashish Shah, M.D., in a novel study that used a computerized algorithm to highlight the value of high-volume transplant centers with corresponding improved outcomes.

By Jessica Pasley
September 8, 2016

Proposed changes could impact liver transplant efforts

A new proposal under consideration by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) that would change the way donated livers are distributed would negatively impact patients listed for liver transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and across the Southeast, according to Seth Karp, M.D., H. William Scott Jr. Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery.

By Jessica Pasley
August 18, 2016

Age no barrier for patient’s transplant surgery success

The old adage that age is just a number actually became a lifesaver for 71-year-old Rex Parton.
By Jessica Pasley
June 23, 2016

Girl’s dual heart, kidney transplants a VUMC first

Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently performed its first pediatric dual heart/kidney transplant on a 13-year-old girl from Chattanooga.
By Jessica Pasley
February 18, 2016

Study leads to new heart transplant decision support tool

Because donor organs are scarce, understanding the mortality risk associated with heart transplantation is an important consideration when evaluating patients for transplant.
By Kathy Whitney