United Network For Organ Sharing

Turning tragedy into triumph is something Khris Downing is learning to do. He’s getting a lot of practice, as he is alive today because of a life-saving organ donation from his older sister, Geraldine Williams, who died on July 26. Read More

How many heart transplant programs do we really need? That was a question posed by a group of investigators, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Ashish Shah, M.D., in a novel study that used a computerized algorithm to highlight the value of high-volume transplant centers with corresponding improved outcomes. Read More

A new proposal under consideration by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) that would change the way donated livers are distributed would negatively impact patients listed for liver transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and across the Southeast, according to Seth Karp, M.D., H. William Scott Jr. Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery. Read More

The old adage that age is just a number actually became a lifesaver for 71-year-old Rex Parton. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently performed its first pediatric dual heart/kidney transplant on a 13-year-old girl from Chattanooga. Read More

Because donor organs are scarce, understanding the mortality risk associated with heart transplantation is an important consideration when evaluating patients for transplant. Read More