For close to 50 years, Tampa General Hospital has been a national leader in life-saving organ transplantation. In 2022, the TGH Transplant Institute performed 682 transplants, a 20% increase in the number of procedures over 2021. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the national rate of transplants grew by 3.7% in 2022 over 2021.
“As a leading and nationally recognized academic medical center, Tampa General continues to lead the state and the country in world-class transplantation care,” said John Couris, president and CEO, Tampa General. “Our ability to continue to increase our transplant volume year after year is directly correlated to the exceptional level of care we continue to provide. Studies continue to show that the greater number of procedures performed – in this case, the number of transplants conducted at Tampa General – lead to increased proficiency. Better proficiency, in turn, means better quality and improved outcomes for our patients.”
In 2022, the TGH Transplant Institute ranked #1 in the state of Florida for living-donor kidney transplants, #1 in the state for pediatric kidney transplants, and #3 in the nation for all kidney transplants. The academic medical center also ranked #7 in the nation for all liver transplants last year and performed more than 100 total heart and lung transplants.
“In our nearly 50-year history of performing organ transplantation, we have deeply embraced innovation,” said Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy, vice president and chief of the TGH Transplant Institute. “This past year, we implemented new organ perfusion technology that has led to an increased usage of marginal donor organs and allowed us to travel farther to bring organs to our patients. As early adopters of machine perfusion technology, we are expanding access to transplantation for the sickest members of our community.” Organ perfusion is technology that helps keep donor organs healthy prior to transplant.
Close to 20% of residents in Tampa General’s home county of Hillsborough are of Hispanic heritage and to help better serve Hispanic patients, Tampa General initiated a Hispanic Kidney Transplant program in 2022. The goal of the program is to help create a clear, compassionate and personalized process for Spanish-speaking patients and their families. The TGH Transplant Institute has assembled a bilingual team comprised of surgeons, physicians, social workers, financial coordinators, and support staff. The program begins with the transplant referral phase and continues through evaluation, transplant, and post-transplant to ensure that Hispanic patients and their families feel as comfortable as possible.
The TGH Transplant Institute performed its first transplant in 1974 and in 1985 became the first hospital in Florida to successfully perform a life-saving heart transplant. The Institute has completed more than 12,500 transplants.
To become an organ donor, Florida residents can visit Donate Life Florida.
Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care.
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