Vanderbilt Transplant Center Archives

VUMC now leads world in heart transplantation

Jan. 12, 2021—Vanderbilt University Medical Center performed more heart transplants in 2020 than any other center in the world — 124 adult hearts, 23 pediatric hearts and VUMC’s first heart-lung transplant since 2006.

The Liver Transplant Anesthesia team includes, from left, Clayne Benson, MD, Kevin Furman, MD, Philip Leisy, MD, and Kara Siegrist, MD.

New approach helps conserve blood products for liver transplant patients

Dec. 10, 2020—Liver transplants have traditionally required a high volume of transfusions of blood products, which comes with several downsides. The products are costly to patients — as high as $15,000 on top of the expense of a transplant. And they are sometimes not well accepted in patients because they degrade over time and are derived from multiple patients.

Liver transplant donor Sam Burnett with surgical team members, from left, Lee Gordon, MD, Lea Matsuoka, MD, Sophoclis Alexopoulos, MD, Martin Montenovo, MD, Ahlie Kerr, RN, and Joseph Awad, MD.

Living liver donor program performs first transplant

Oct. 15, 2020—The Vanderbilt Transplant Center's newly launched living liver donor program allows relatives to donate part of their liver to their loved one, something only possible at select centers in the country.

COVID patient’s heart-lung transplant is world’s first

Oct. 8, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has performed the world’s first dual heart-lung transplant of a COVID-19 patient.

Transplant program reaches milestone 10,000th procedure

Oct. 1, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has completed its 10,000th organ transplant, a monumental achievement representing nearly 60 years of life-saving work.

Members of the heart transplant perfusion and recovery team pose with the TransMedics system used to preserve organs during transport. From left are Ashish Shah, MD, Harry Moneypenny, CCP, LCP, Matthew Warhoover, MS, CCP, LCP, Jordan Hoffman, MD, Kyle Rider, CCP, Joey Lepore, RN, CCP, LCP, and Marina Mailyan, MS, CCP, LCP.

Four heart transplants performed in whirlwind 48 hours

Aug. 26, 2020—The Vanderbilt Transplant Center’s cardiac surgeons transplanted four hearts in one 48-hour stretch in August, thanks to VUMC’s perfusion and organ recovery teams traveling more than 4,000 miles across the country to obtain the donor organs.

Human lungs rejected for transplant recovered using novel technique

Jul. 13, 2020—A multidisciplinary team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Columbia University has demonstrated that injured human donor lungs declined for transplant can be recovered by cross-circulation between the human lung and a xenogeneic host.

Vanderbilt Transplant Center sets monthly record

Jun. 8, 2020—The Vanderbilt Transplant Center performed 73 transplants in May, setting a Medical Center record for the most transplants in a month. Sixteen of those were heart transplants — also a monthly record — cementing VUMC’s status as the busiest heart transplant center in the country.