As in prior years, the success of Vanderbilt Health’s transplant program is a testament to the greatness of individuals and innovations alike and to the tremendous power of teamwork.

Watkins was a leading surgeon, physician-scientist, mentor and role model for countless students, trainees and faculty members.

ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is a life-sustaining mechanical system that takes over for the hearts and lungs of critically ill patients, allowing them to rest and recover.

The method, rapid recovery with extended ultraoxygenated preservation, involves flushing the donor heart with a cold oxygenated preservation solution after death.

Bystanders assumed the healthy teen — who has danced for nine years, six of those competitively — was overheated or exhausted. Conscious, though unresponsive to questions, Zoe quickly worsened.

When her evening pivoted from cheering for Nashville Soccer Club to suffering a heart attack, well-coordinated teams kept Leigh Anne Clark’s heart and life safe.

The team used an Impella, a catheter-based miniature ventricular assist device. It offered the best chance of getting rising eighth-grader Van Sung to transplant.