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Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) set a new record for total transplants among its five organ specialties in 2018 with more than 500 transplants.

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center performed 502 transplants between its adult and children’s hospitals, topping its previous record of 462 in 2017. As a result, VUMC now ranks as the sixth largest transplant hospital by volume in the nation out of 254 hospitals offering some type of organ transplant.

More than 20 percent of VUMC’s transplants were hearts. There were a record 109 adult and pediatric transplants, making VUMC the second largest heart transplant program in the nation by volume for three consecutive years.

“This is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Seth Karp, MD, H. William Scott Jr. Professor and chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences and director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. “The team provides care tailored to each individual patient by combining innovative, cutting-edge methods with true compassion. We are proud to be able to provide this service to our community.”

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center is the South’s premier transplant center, providing more opportunity for patients to participate in clinical trials that help advance the science of organ transplantation, as well as access to other specialists. Its transplant teams have performed more than 9,500 solid organ transplants since 1962, including all major organs — heart, kidney, lung, liver and pancreas.