Tampa General Hospital's Transplant Institute Achieves Record Number of Organ Transplants in 2022

The academic medical center continues to set records with the number of transplants
performed, which translates into world-class patient care before, during, and after a transplant.

TAMPA, Fla., March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For close to 50 years, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) 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. For more information, visit Programa de trasplante de riñón en español | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org) or Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org).

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. Today, the Institute has completed more than 12,500 transplants.

To become an organ donor, Florida residents can visit Donate Life Florida.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL 

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. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic medical center's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. 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. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
Senior Communications Specialist
(813) 844-7322 (direct)
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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital