Tampa (Nov. 26, 2018) – Tampa General Hospital, home to one of the busiest transplant centers in the nation, has reached a milestone by performing more than 10,000 transplants.
That places the Tampa General Hospital Advanced Organ Disease and Transplantation Institute among about two dozen transplant centers in the nation to reach this mark.
The first transplant at Tampa General was a kidney transplant performed in 1974. Tampa General also performed Florida’s first successful heart transplant in 1985.
On Sept. 30, Tampa General performed its 10,000th transplant, providing a kidney to a patient from the Fort Myers area.
“We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to change so many lives through transplants,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “There are few medical procedures that can transform a patient’s life so completely. Transplant services are a vital part of Tampa General’s mission to provide world-class care to residents in Tampa Bay and beyond.”
The hospital performs adult heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants, including kidney-pancreas transplants and kidney transplants from living donors. TGH also performs pediatric kidney transplants.
“The life-saving transplants that we perform would not be possible without the cohesive teamwork by our TGH team members and our great organ procurement partner, LifeLink of Florida,” said Dr. Victor Bowers, executive director of the Transplantation Institute. “We are deeply grateful for their commitment to our patients, and we share this achievement with them.”
No one should forget the sacrifice of the organ donors and the generosity of their families, Couris said.
“We owe an incalculable debt to the donors who said they believe in the value of organ donation,” he said. “They have, quite literally, given these patients the gift of life. Their selflessness inspires us to keep working to help improve the lives and health of our transplant patients.”
Tampa General Hospital, a 1010-bed non-profit academic medical center, delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. Advancing medicine through innovation, Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, an 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a state-certified spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.