Transplant Archive — Page 1 of 23

Ashish Shah, MD, center, holds a plaque of appreciation from the North Patchogue Fire Department in Long Island, New York. Bob Meyer, left, is a volunteer firefighter for the department who received a heart transplant at the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, performed by Shah. Jim Hawley, BSN, RN, right, is a former Vanderbilt nurse who made his old friend, Meyer, aware of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center.
October 14, 2026

Chance encounter brings New York firefighter to Vanderbilt Health for heart transplant

Bob Meyer got on the heart transplant list locally in New York. He had no way of knowing at the time that a chance encounter would point him to the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, and he would receive a new heart nearly 1,000 miles away.

By Matt Batcheldor
Heart transplant patient Aleah (Sissy) Keasling.
October 7, 2026

First-of-its-kind heart transplant gives Sissy a second chance

The novel technique could help increase the number of donor hearts available to children awaiting transplant and reduce the time they spend waiting.

By Christina Echegaray
Vanderbilt Health performed a record number of solid organ transplants in fiscal year 2026 — 981 lifesaving procedures among its adult and pediatric programs. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
October 7, 2026

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt leads breakthrough heart recovery method for pediatric transplants

Surgeons reported using the novel technique known as REUP (rapid recovery with extended ultraoxygenated preservation) to transplant five donor hearts in children. Since then, five more children were saved successfully.

By Christina Echegaray
October 6, 2026

Ukrainian health care teams visit to learn best practices and take their knowledge home

Ten Ukrainian health care professionals visited the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Department of Biomedical Informatics.

By Matt Batcheldor
Harold Scott was the first patient at Vanderbilt Health to receive a transplant of an HIV-positive organ into a HIV-positive recipient. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
September 17, 2026

Vanderbilt Health transplants first HIV-positive organ into HIV-positive recipient

Harold Scott of Lebanon, Tennessee, received the kidney transplant from a deceased donor in July. He is doing well and wants to spread the word about this new frontier in organ transplantation.

By Matt Batcheldor
(iStock)
September 14, 2026

How ‘mismatched donors’ are opening new doors for blood cancer patients

The ACCESS trial allowed mismatched, unrelated donors for blood cancer patients who didn’t have a perfect match for a stem cell transplant; the trial enrolled a more varied population of patients.

By Yolanda James