Vanderbilt Transplant Center Hits Record 918 Organ Transplants
URGENT UPDATE: The Vanderbilt Transplant Center has just announced a groundbreaking achievement, completing a record 918 solid organ transplants during fiscal year 2025, which ran from July 2024 to the end of June 2025. This remarkable feat highlights the center’s commitment to saving lives and marks the second consecutive year of record-breaking transplants.
The adult transplant program alone accounted for 859 procedures, while the pediatric program successfully completed 59 transplants. This achievement surpasses the previous year’s record by an incredible 109 lives saved. Notably, Vanderbilt Heart continues to hold its title as the world’s busiest heart transplant program.
In detail, Vanderbilt’s adult programs achieved significant milestones: 184 heart transplants, 126 lung transplants, and 375 kidney transplants, which includes pancreas and simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplants. Additionally, the center conducted 174 adult liver transplants and one heart-lung transplant.
“It’s been a remarkable year for us,” stated Heidi Schaefer, MD, the medical director of adult solid organ transplant. “To provide such a high number of transplants while maintaining quality care is both humbling and fulfilling. I’m immensely proud of our team’s dedication.”
The pediatric teams from the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt also reported impressive results, performing a record 22 kidney transplants, 21 liver transplants, and 15 heart transplants. Additionally, Vanderbilt achieved a historic milestone by performing the state’s first pediatric liver-pancreas transplant.
Since its inception in 1962, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has surpassed 13,000 total transplants across all organ types, demonstrating its long-standing commitment to transplant medicine.
A highly specialized team of around 150 professionals collaborates on each transplant, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and social workers, ensuring comprehensive care for patients.
“I am continually amazed by our transplant teams and the multidisciplinary efforts across our Medical Center,” said Heather O’Dell, MSN, ANP-BC, executive director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. “Every patient represents a profound impact on our institution, and it’s this collaboration that allows us to provide the gift of time with loved ones.”
As the Vanderbilt Transplant Center celebrates this historic achievement, attention is now focused on how such advancements in transplant medicine will continue to evolve and what new records may be set in the future.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as the center aims to further enhance its lifesaving capabilities.
