NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Vanderbilt Transplant Center has officially set a world record for the number of heart transplants performed in 2024.
The team carried out a total of 174 heart transplants, something surgeon Aaron Williams says is worth it every time.
"There's not a more cool thing to do than take a bad, old heart out and put a new one in, and it works, and it helps change someone's life for the better," he explained.
The achievement is thanks to a team full of hardworking experts, including cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, intensivists, nurses, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, social workers, and many more.
Another factor of success is developing unique technologies and strategies to preserve the organs.
"Those things I think have allowed us to travel longer distances to recover hearts and consider hearts that might otherwise be discarded," noted heart transplant program medical director Kelly Schlendorf.
One patient, Sara Dillon, is currently recovering from her own heart transplant surgery 11 days ago.
"I feel like a miracle," she said.
"I start crying, I was just thanking God, I was like, 'we got the call, thank you God, thank you Lord, thank you Vanderbilt!'" added her sister Sharon Williams.
The team is proud of the achievement of a world record but say they're laser-focused on the future.
"The real driver for all this is innovation," said the chair of Cardiac Surgery, Ashish Shah. "How do we do it better, how do we solve the next set of problems that are associated with not just transplantation but advanced cardiovascular disease?"
You can learn more about this achievement on the VUMC News website.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.
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