Tampa General Hospital Reaches Milestone With 7,500 Kidney Transplants

TAMPA, FL — Filling a critical need for people hoping for a donor kidney, Tampa General Hospital (TGH), surgeons with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Tampa General Medical Group and nephrologists with Florida Kidney Physicians LLC recently set a record with the 7,500th kidney transplant at the hospital. Tampa General’s first kidney transplant was in 1974.

“It’s an important number and milestone because it shows how Tampa General, year after year, has been meeting the need for these patients,’’ said Dr. Anthony Watkins, Tampa General’s surgical director of kidney rransplant and associate professor in the Department of Surgery at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “Thanks to our world-class team, thousands of patients have received this life-changing, and often life-saving, surgery.’’

In 2020, Tampa General’s Kidney Transplant Program was ranked third in the nation by volume and, in 2021, the institute performed 563 total organ transplants. Currently, the TGH Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Center is one of the top five kidney transplant programs in the country and the top living donor kidney transplant program in the state of Florida for the last three years.

“Our goal is to provide patients with the most advanced, comprehensive, compassionate and personalized care possible,” said Dr. Rajendra Baliga, Tampa General medical director of kidney transplant, clinical assistant professor for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and president of Florida Kidney Physicians LLC. “There is a huge need for world-class kidney care, and we’re providing it. Every kidney counts because every life counts.’’

A kidney transplant is used to treat kidney failure (also called end-stage renal disease, ESRD), a condition in which kidneys can function at only a fraction of their normal capacity. People with ESRD need either dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.

More than 90,000 Americans currently are waiting for a potentially life-saving kidney donation. However, less than 25,000 operations were performed last year. Every 10 minutes, a person is added to the overall national transplant waiting list, according to Donate Life America, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Virginia.

Since it began nearly 50 years ago, the TGH Transplant Institute has performed more than 12,000 transplant surgeries. In October 2022, the institute successfully completed 76 organ transplants, setting a record for any single month. This included 50 kidneys, 18 livers, four lungs, three hearts, and one kidney/pancreas transplant.

“This new milestone is another sign that Tampa General is one of the busiest and safest transplant centers in the nation,’’ said Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy, vice president and chief of the TGH Transplant Institute and associate professor in the Department of Surgery in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

In addition to performing kidney transplants on adults, Tampa General’s Kidney Transplant Program has cared for children and adolescents who need transplants due to reduced kidney function caused by chronic kidney disease or other conditions. This achievement includes 359 pediatric patients receiving kidney transplants since 1983 in close collaboration with USF Health Pediatric Nephrology.

“The goal of kidney transplantation in children is to provide a duration and quality of life similar to their healthy peers,” said Dr. Alfonso Campos, associate professor and director of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology in the Department of Pediatrics in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and medical director of Tampa General’s Pediatric Kidney Transplant program. “Children with end-stage renal disease present complex problems that are frequently different than those in adults. Successfully meeting this challenge requires a specialized multidisciplinary team in conjunction with dedication and care from the patient’s families.”

To become an organ donor, Florida residents can visit Donate Life Florida.