Transplant in the News

Videos

• Two Texas Transplant Programs Break Down Barriers to Save Patient Lives
  Two hard-to-match transplant patients 250 miles apart are beginning 2024 with a path to full and healthy lives. That's because University Health Transplant Institute in San Antonio and the UT Southwestern Transplant Program in Dallas searched beyond their own institutional networks to identify compatible living kidney donors for their failing patients.
• Two Transplants in 10 Years
  Several years after receiving a heart transplant in 2011, Mark Doman's kidney function began to decline. When he learned he needed another transplant, a family member graciously donated their kidney in order to give him a new lease on life.
• Her Nursing Boards Had To Wait: Susan's Transplant Story
  Susan Anigabor's health deteriorated quickly after being diagnosed with decompensated liver disease and she was referred to our Liver Transplant Program.
• Mother of Three Donates Kidney
  Lisa James knew years ago that she wanted to donate her kidney to a child in need. In 2018, her dream became a reality when she matched with a 10-year-old girl from New Mexico. With immense gratitude, the families meet for the first time after surgery.
• Ask the Expert: Organ Donation
  What does it take to become a living donor? Watch the Facebook Live chat where Parsia Vagefi, M.D., chief of the Division of Surgical Transplantation, talks about UT Southwestern Medical Center's Living Donor Programs and the progression of organ donation over the past few years.
• North Texas Family Grateful for Selfless Donation
  Thanks to the heart and kidney surgical transplantation team at UT Southwestern, Pete Sanchez underwent a combined heart and kidney transplantation and gained a new lease on life.
• Two Life-Threatening Problems, One Surgery
  Thanks to the collaborative effort between specialties at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Juan Cueto received a liver transplant that saved him from not one, but two life threatening diseases. Watch the video to learn about our cholangiocarcinoma liver transplant program, then read more about this life-saving surgery.
• Give the Gift of Life
  Did you know that February 14th is National Donor Day? One donor can save 8 lives. Give the gift of life and become an organ donor today!
• Become an Organ Donor Today
  Register to become an organ donor and give the gift of life.
• Facebook Live: Transplant Care
  Dr. Malcolm MacConmara sits down to discuss how far UT Southwestern's Transplant Surgery team has come in terms of research and caring for transplant patients. Watch as he sheds light on the tough questions via Facebook Live.
• Organ Donation: The Ultimate Gift
  UT Southwestern transplant surgeon Dr. Malcolm MacConmara discusses the impact of becoming an organ donor. Joining him is Susana Margraf, who is a kidney donor herself, and reveals the reasons she wanted to become a kidney donor and how much being able to donate an organ meant to her.
• Kidney Transplants Redefine Family
  A heartwarming story of how a husband was given a second lease on life and how his wife gave that same gift to someone in need. A pair of kidney donations connected four people for life.
• New Method of Liver Transplant Keeps Organ at Body Temperature
  UT Southwestern Medical Center is leading the way with a lifesaving international clinical trial that allows a liver to remain warm and full of blood out of the body. Dr. Malcolm MacConmara leads this clinical trial in normothermic liver perfusion and his efforts continue to put UT Southwestern at the forefront of research and innovation.
• UTSW Celebration of Excellence 2020
  UTSW Celebration of Excellence 2020 Event Video

  Juan Escobar had been diagnosed with cirrhosis and liver cancer. His best option for survival was a liver transplant, but to ensure he had the best chance of survival, he also needed a bariatric procedure. Through a collaborative effort, Dr. Parsia Vagefi and Dr. Benjamin Schneider were able to perform the first combined liver transplant and sleeve gastrectomy at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
• School Principal Donates Kidney to Father of 3
  The inspiring story of how a principle donated a kidney to a father of three. The three children attend her school and when she heard that their father was in need of a kidney transplant, she was moved to donate.
• A Match Made in Heaven
  In 2021, when an infection caused Vivian’s kidney function to plummet and it became apparent she would need a second transplant, every eligible family member and their spouses said, “Sign me up!” to become a kidney donor. Little did Vivian know her oldest daughter, Kimberly, vowed when she was 14 yeas old to be her mothers donor.
• A True Lifesaver
  In 2005, Rick was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), which causes the bile ducts in the liver to become inflamed and scarred. When his liver began shutting down, he began exploring the possibility of having a living-donor liver transplant.
• The gifts of life she will cherish this Mother’s Day: a new kidney and unexpected baby
  In 2007, a chronic kidney disease diagnosis led to a challenging journey for Maureen Silvestre. Pregnancy was considered risky due to the disease. Despite losing her first child, Hans, she received exceptional care at UT Southwestern. A successful kidney transplant from an anonymous donor restored her health. A second pregnancy, termed a “rainbow baby,” brought joy back into the Silvestres’ lives.

Articles

• Living-liver Transplant

  Living-liver transplant: Son gives 'most meaningful gift' to father and stepfather. A son donated a kidney to his father 12 years ago, and more recently he donated a portion of his liver to his stepfather in a transplant that was performed at UT Southwestern.

• General Surgery News

  General Surgery News: UT Southwestern transplant surgeon Dr. Parsia Vagefi discusses the racial gap in liver transplant access widened during the pandemic.

• 1,500th Child Receives Transplant at Children's Medical Center Dallas

  1,500th Child Receives Transplant at Children's Medical Center Dallas
  Dr. Dev Desai, program director of Solid Organ Transplant at Children's Health and Associate Professor of the Division of Surgical Transplantation, performed the surgery.

• Living-liver Transplant

  Living-liver transplant: How a daughter gave her mom the gift of a lifetime. During a seven-hour surgery in side-by-side operating rooms at UT Southwestern, a Frisco mother of four donated about 60% of her liver to her mother, Pamela Arrington, a former nurse who was suffering from cirrhosis.

• Abdominal Transplant Program

  Abdominal Transplant Program receives 2020 Leaders in Clinical Excellence Program Development Award

• Former Shreveport Resident Benefits from Hope

  Former Shreveport Resident Benefits from HOPE
  Former Shreveport resident John Welch was diagnosed with HIV and cirrhosis of the liver on the same day in August 2016.

• Daughter Gives Her Mother the Gift of a Lifetime

  Daughter Gives Her Mother the Gift of a Lifetime
  During asimultaneous seven-hour surgery, a Texas daughter donated 60 percent of her liver to her mother.

• Newsroom: UTSW Performs first HIV-positive-to-HIV-positive organ transplant in Texas

  Newsroom: UTSW performs first HIV-positive-to-HIV-positive organ transplant in Texas
  On July 1, the 53-year-old Dallas man became the first recipient of an HIV-positive-to-HIV-positive organ transplant in Texas at UT Southwestern's William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital .

• D Magazine: UTSW Performs Texas' First HIV-Positive to HIV-Positive Organ Transplant

  D Magazine: UTSW Performs Texas' First HIV-Positive to HIV-Positive Organ Transplant
  In July 2020, a Dallas man became the first Texan recipient of an HIV-positive to HIV-positive organ transplant at UT Southwestern's Clements University Hospital.

• UT Southwestern Demonstrates Efficacy of Portable Donor Liver System

  UT Southwestern Demonstrates Efficacy of Portable Donor Liver System
  UT Southwestern Medical Center announces its participation in the Liver PROTECT trial. This trial involves a portable Organ Care System that provides oxygen, blood, and nutrition to a liver that is awaiting transplantation.

• Inspired by Father's Struggle, Woman Donates Kidney to Save Life of Stranger

  Inspired by Father's Struggle, Woman Donates Kidney to Save Life of Stranger
  In honor of her late father, Susana Margraf volunteered to become a kidney donor to help someone in need. On her birthday, she gave the greatest gift to Valene Escobedo, a young woman from Amarillo. This heartwarming story shows how Susana's generosity saved a life.

• An Innovative Approach to Transitioning Care

  An Innovative Approach to Transitioning Care
  A patient that is in the process of getting a transplant is often overwhelmed with all the information before and after surgery. But thanks to the nursing coordinators at UT Southwestern Medical Center, patients are not left answering the tough questions themselves. With nursing support, patients are able to manage their medications, take their vital signs and perform self-care practices long after discharge.

• UT Southwestern's First Heart-Liver Transplant Saves Life of Singer Diagnosed with Rare Genetic Metabolic Disease

  UT Southwestern's First Heart-Liver Transplant Saves Life of Singer Diagnosed with Rare Genetic Metabolic Disease
  Transplant surgeons at UT Southwestern save the life of Andrea Joyner, who was hours away from death. Her heart was failing and her liver was in bad shape, which caused her other organs to begin failing as well. Thanks to the collaborative efforts between the heart transplant team and the liver transplant team, Ms. Joyner received the first heart-liver transplant at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

• 'It was an amazing gift': Patients, donors gather to celebrate life at UTSW Transplant Reunion

  'It was an amazing gift': Patients, donors gather to celebrate life at UTSW Transplant Reunion
  The annual UT Southwestern Transplant Reunion allows donors, recipients, and their families show their appreciation for each other and the UT Southwestern transplant team involved in their care. Every year patients share their inspiring stories of survival. 'A Tale of Two Jackies' is just one of the many you can find here.

• Tina's Transplant Story: A race against time and acute liver failure

  Tina's Transplant Story: A race against time and acute liver failure
  What she thought was a case of pneumonia, turned into a race against the clock to get a liver transplant. Read Tina Bartolucci's miraculous story about how a loss of cognitive function led to her diagnosis of acute liver failure and lifesaving liver transplant.

• Divide and survive: How a split-liver transplant saved two lives

  Divide and survive: How a split-liver transplant saved two lives
  Thomas Locke donated a kidney to his father 12 years ago, and more recently he donated a portion of his liver to his stepfather in a transplant that was performed at UT Southwestern. Read Thomas Locke's inspiring story here.

• Making transplants easier for veterans and their families

  UT Southwestern's transplant program and the Dallas VA are collaborating to make it easier for military veterans and their families to get transplants close to home.

  Here are two of their stories:

  • Vivian Johnson, military mom and kidney recipient.
  • Rick Nelson, Air Force veteran and liver recipient.