They and their families shared their journeys back to health, from initial illness followed by weeks to months in the SICU, to their ongoing rehabilitation and recovery. 

Most of the 27 participants were able to reach altitudes of more than 18,000 feet — exclusively personal bests. All participants were under close medical supervision.

The program performed 149 lung transplants in 2025, the most ever in one year at Vanderbilt Health, and is now the second largest lung transplant center in the U.S.

Researchers retrospectively reviewed 552 Vanderbilt Health patients from Jan. 2024 to Dec. 2025, placing them in 3 groups: those with no sternotomies, those with one, and those with two or more.

Williams helped lead the team that developed a method to preserve donor hearts for up to 12 hours — triple the typical four-hour window.

The technique, termed REUP (rapid recovery with extended ultraoxygenated preservation), avoids traditional methods that reanimate the heart within or outside the donor’s body.

Vanderbilt Health's fourth lung transplant patient is thought to be the world's record holder for longevity following a single lung transplant.