heart transplant

Through dramatic growth, the VTC is now the nation’s third busiest transplant center by volume, saving 136 more critically ill patients in calendar year 2024 than in 2023.

A standard heart transplant requires surgical instruments spread across multiple sterile tables — from tiny vascular clamps to hefty retractors to keep the surgical field open.

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center had a banner year in 2024. The number of patients whose lives were saved by Vanderbilt’s heart transplant team far surpasses any previous total by an individual transplant center. 

The recipient of the 2,000th transplant was Wes Carter, 37, a real estate agent from Pensacola, Florida, who first noticed an irregular heart rhythm in his mid-20s.

Bill Jackson received a heart and double lung transplant, an unusual procedure performed only a handful of times each year at VUMC and one that can occur at only the most specialized transplant centers.

Under Bichell’s leadership, the pediatric heart transplant program has consistently had among the highest transplant volumes in the United States, ranking eighth in 2023 for pediatric heart transplant center volumes with 15 transplants performed.

Melissia Boynton got the call about 3 a.m. on Mother’s Day that her new heart was available. Immediately, her plans changed from a barbecue around the family pool to a middle-of-the-night drive to Nashville to get her new heart.