Amanda Atkins is sharing her story to give hope to those facing a life-changing transplant and to give thanks to her organ donor who made it all possible.

For the second calendar year in a row, Vanderbilt Lung Transplant has the busiest program in the Southeast and leads the nation in innovation in organ preservation and regeneration.

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.

Hoetzenecker comes to Vanderbilt from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, where he has been professor of Lung Transplantation and director of the Lung Transplant Program.

Recognized as a major regional referral center for heart, kidney and liver transplantation, incorporating pancreas and lung transplant services for pediatric patients bolsters the well-established expertise currently offered by the Vanderbilt Transplant Center.

LSU baseball fan sporting a new set of lungs after VUMC transplant

Mike Boston was turned down by eight hospitals for a double lung transplant, which would be his second, because none believed he would survive the surgery. Finally, doctors at one medical center — VUMC — thought he might.