Mother and Son Share How Tampa General Hospital's First Living Donor Liver Transplant Can Save Two Lives

2023-05-31

Less than two weeks before Mother's Day, a son gives his mother the most precious gift of all by donating a portion of his liver during the first Living Donor Liver Transplant on Florida's West Coast.

Link to video: https://vimeo.com/830541858?share=copy

TAMPA, Fla., May 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) announced that doctors at the academic health system had performed the first living donor liver transplant on the West Coast of Florida.

In the video link above, donor Derek Sanz and Patricia Sanz, the recipient and Derek's mother, shared their story. Of the living donor liver transplant surgery, Derek said, "It can save two lives, it can save the life of the recipient and also someone waiting on the transplant list. I want to thank Tampa General for giving me the opportunity to help my mom before it was too late."

Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy, vice president and chief of the TGH Transplant Institute and surgical director of the Comprehensive Liver Disease and Transplant Center at the TGH Transplant Institute, performed the recipient operation and was assisted by Dr. Diego Reino, an experienced Tampa General transplant surgeon. Dr. Ashish Singhal, director, Living Donor Liver Transplant, performed the donor surgery and was assisted by Dr. Vijay Subramanian, a liver transplant surgeon at Tampa General. An entire team of health care professionals supported both surgeries.

For nearly 50 years, Tampa General has been a national leader in lifesaving organ transplantation. In 2022, the hospital performed 682 transplants, a 20% increase in the number of procedures over the previous year. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the national rate of transplants grew by 3.7% in 2022 over 2021.

The surgery took place May 2, 2023. "I'm going to live my life to the fullest," Patricia said.

Visit https://www.tgh.org/services/transplant to learn more about the Tampa General Transplant Institute.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida

. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR

Senior Communications Specialist

(813) 844-7322 (direct)

(813) 510-6363 (cell)

[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital