Experience is important in any field, but in the complex realm of transplant medicine it’s crucial—translating directly to lives saved or significantly enhanced.
In 2015, two UT Southwestern transplant programs have celebrated milestones in experience.
In March, UT Southwestern’s Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program physicians performed their 1,000th transplant.
“Reaching and then surpassing the 1,000th transplant procedure was momentous,” says Program Director Robert Collins, M.D., “but even more significant to us has been consistently having high numbers in outcomes and patient satisfaction.
“Achieving and maintaining those numbers requires commitment and an extremely high level of skill,” he notes.
In April, the Lung Transplant Program team performed its 500th lung transplant, putting UTSW in an elite group of fewer than 25 medical centers in the nation to achieve that benchmark.
Fernando Torres, M.D., Medical Director of the Program, says that while every transplant is a remarkable accomplishment, there is significance in reaching such a volume marker.
“Having performed 500 lung transplants indicates a level of care that is a little different from institutions that don’t do many transplants,” he says. “Large-volume centers tend to have better outcomes for patients.”
