Almost 900 people received life-changing transplants at Tampa General Hospital last year, the most of any transplant center in the country.
Tampa General’s Transplant Institute completed 889 transplant procedures, including 500 kidneys and 279 livers, the hospital announced earlier this month.
Data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network shows the Bay Area hospital had more transplants than Arizona’s Mayo Clinic Hospital (883), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (875) and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (845).
“Tampa General is not just one of the nation’s leading academic health systems, it is now the first choice in America for patients in need of a transplant,” hospital President/CEO John Couris said in a statement. “That’s because this team is exceptional at what they do and is backed by the latest academic research and the most innovative technologies in health care.”
The ranking also indicates better patient outcome because more procedures leads to more expertise, Chief of the Transplant Institute Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy said.
“Patients who really have no other hope for a long and healthy life can be offered transplantation here because of the expertise that we built and our outcomes are excellent,” Dhanireddy said.
Florida hosted the second most transplants in the country with 3,250 procedures in 2024. Tampa General Hospital conducted almost a third of these. California had the most procedures overall with 5,261.
“The need for transplantation in the Tampa community and the country is overwhelming,” Dhanireddy said. “When we do more transplants, we get closer to meeting that need in the community.”
The Transplant Institute celebrated its 50th anniversary in the summer of 2024 and has performed over 14,000 transplants since it opened. In 2023, the hospital performed 756 transplants – fourth in the nation.
“We’re building on decades of experience and the expertise of our team,” Dhanireddy said.
He said one of the most important things Tampa General does is care for its staff and surgeons to make sure they can care for their patients.
Heart Transplant Surgical Director Lucian Lozonschi and liver transplant surgeon Vijay Subramanian stood out for their use of new technology.
Lozonschi worked with a robotic cardiac surgeon and Subramanian partnered with the University of South Florida to improve outcomes with basic mechanics.
In March, the hospital completed its first of three heart and lung transplants.
“These are patients that are incredibly complex because, not only do they require a single organ transplant, but they require two simultaneously,” Dhanireddy said.
In 2024, the surgical team transplanted:
- 500 kidneys
- 110 living donor kidneys
- 279 livers
- Five living donor livers
- 51 hearts
- 42 lungs
- Three heart and lung
- 14 kidney and pancreas
Completing these procedures allows the team to feel more confident during future surgeries, ultimately advancing the hospital’s patient care, he said.
To maintain its top status in 2025, Dhanireddy said the hospital staff plans to “double down on innovation and academics.”
By focusing on complex cases, patient care and partnerships with USF, he said the hospital can continue to care for the community and have a nationwide impact in the transplant field.
