For more than two decades, Tampa General Hospital has been a leader in organ Transplantation. Today,
we are one of only 10 transplant centers in Florida and one of the busiest organ transplant centers in the nation. A triple transplant was recently performed at TGH.
Through our affiliation with LifeLink HealthCare Institute, the University of South Florida College
of Medicine, and private practice transplant physicians, TGH is the only hospital in West Central
Florida performing adult heart, lung, kidney, liver and pancreas transplants. Pediatric kidney
transplants are also performed at TGH.
Click here for patient and graft survival rates.
When a heart can no longer work adequately either because of chronic cardiovascular disease or viral
infection, a heart transplant may be needed to save that person’s life.
In 1985, Tampa General became the first hospital in Florida to perform a life-saving heart transplant.
Since then, more than 800 people have benefited from this procedure at TGH, making us the fifth busiest
cardiac transplant center in the nation and the busiest center in the state of Florida.
Once you are accepted into our transplant program, the wait for a new heart begins. When a donor organ
becomes available, several factors are considered in identifying the best recipient for that organ.
These factors include such characteristics as:
blood type
compatibility in size and age
urgency of need
length of time on the waiting list.
Some patients are implanted with a ventricular assist device while waiting for a donor
heart. The VAD helps the heart to pump and allows it to rest until a healthy heart can be transplanted.
Click here for more detailed information on heart
transplantation at Tampa General.
How To Refer A Heart Patient
Please call or have your physician call Tampa General at 1-800-505-7769 or 1-813-844-7137 and speak to
a transplant coordinator.
To help us evaluate your case, your doctor will be asked to send your records to the transplant team
for evaluation of your medical history.
The records should include demographics with insurance information, progress notes, a history and physical,
lab results, and procedure reports. These records should be current from the last six months to twelve months.
Our physician will review these records and send a written decision to your doctor about your eligibility
for an initial consultation. If you are going to be seen at TGH, your insurance will be verified. Once
that’s completed, we’ll contact you for an appointment and send you a new patient packet that includes a
medical history survey, map and directions to our facility, a list of area hotels offering discounts, a
transplant candidate registration request form, consent form, and pamphlet with general patient information.
In case of emergency or a hospital-to-hospital referral, the transplant coordinator will review your medical
records with the physician who will oversee your care. If there are no contraindications to transplantation,
you will be transferred to Tampa General as soon as possible.
If your condition is stable, you will have an initial visit at Tampa General to determine whether
transplantation is an appropriate therapy for your illness.
When someone has chronic kidney failure or kidney disease, a kidney transplant can be an alternative
to dialysis.
Nearly 5,000 kidneys have been transplanted at Tampa General since 1988, making us among the top 15
centers nationally and the busiest center in Florida.
There are two sources of kidneys for transplantation:
Living Donors. A kidney can be donated by a family member or a close friend, as long as the donor
has a compatible blood type and is in good health. The advantages to this type of donation are that there
is no waiting period, the surgery can be scheduled in advance, and statistically, the kidneys last longer.
Click here for more information about living kidney donation.
Sometimes willing kidney donors have an incompatible blood type with their intended recipient. A new
arrangement called kidney paired donation matches one incompatible donor / recipient pair to another pair
with a complementary incompatibility, so that the donor of the first pair gives to the recipient of the
second, and vice versa. If you are interested in more information on paired donation, please discuss this
with your physician or kidney transplant coordinator.
Non-Living Donors. Sometimes a compatible living donor cannot be found. In that case, a kidney can be
obtained from an organ donor who has died.
Please call or have your physician call LifeLink at 1-800-202-5775 or 813-472-5303.
To help us evaluate your case, your doctor will be asked to send your records to the transplant team
so we can review your medical history.
The records should include demographics with insurance information, progress notes, a history and
physical, lab results, and procedure reports. These records should be current from the last six to twelve
months.
A physician will review these records and send a written decision to your doctor about your eligibility
for an initial consultation. If you are going to be seen here, your insurance will be verified. Once
that’s completed, we’ll contact you for an appointment and send you a new patient packet that includes a
medical history survey, map and directions to our facility, a list of area hotels offering discounts,
a transplant candidate registration request form, consent form, and pamphlet with general patient information.
In case of emergency or a hospital-to-hospital referral, the transplant coordinator will review your
medical records with the physician who will oversee your care. If there are no contraindications to
transplantation, you will be transferred to Tampa General as soon as possible.
If your condition is stable, you will have an initial visit at LifeLink to determine whether
transplantation is an appropriate therapy for your illness.
Tampa General has been performing liver transplants since 1992. As of December 30, 2008, TGH had
transplanted 854 livers.
Our volume has put us among the nation’s pre-eminent liver transplant centers: in 2007, we were ranked
19th in the U.S., from among 140 programs, for the number of liver transplants performed.
Located on the right side of the abdomen, the liver is the body’s largest internal organ and the most
complex. The liver is not only important for digestion, it is also responsible for clearing the blood
of medications and toxins and for manufacturing proteins needed for blood clotting and replacing body
protein. In short, a functioning liver is vital for sustaining life.
A transplant may be recommended when a liver shows signs of failing either because of liver damage or
damage to the blood vessels surrounding it. Viral hepatitis C is the most common liver disease requiring
transplantation.
Please call or have your physician call LifeLink at 1-800-202-5775 or 813-472-5303.
To help us evaluate your case, your doctor will be asked to send your records to the transplant team
so we can review your medical history.
The records should include demographics with insurance information, progress notes, a history and
physical, lab results, and procedure reports. These records should be current from the last six months
up to a year.
Our physician will review these records and send a written decision to your doctor about your eligibility
for an initial consultation. If you are going to be seen here, your insurance will be verified. Once
that’s completed, we’ll contact you for an appointment and send you a new patient packet that includes a
medical history survey, map and directions to our facility, a list of area hotels offering discounts, a
transplant candidate registration request form, consent form, and pamphlet with general patient information.
In case of emergency or a hospital-to-hospital referral, the transplant coordinator will review your
medical records with the physician who will oversee your care. If there are no contraindications to
transplant, you will be transferred to Tampa General as soon as possible.
If your condition is stable, you will have an initial visit at LifeLink to determine whether
transplantation is an appropriate therapy for your illness.
The first lung transplant at Tampa General took place on June 19, 2002. Five years later, on June 26, 2007,
TGH marked its 100th lung transplant.
Your lungs have two major functions: to supply oxygen to your body and to eliminate the waste product
carbon dioxide. Lung failure occurs when the lungs are damaged either through disease or environmental
factors and are not able to perform these vital functions.
Both single and double lung transplants are performed at TGH, depending on the patient’s needs.
Single Lung Transplants:
In a single-lung transplant, the surgeon makes an incision between the ribs on the appropriate side of
the patient’s chest and removes the diseased lung. The main blood vessels to and from the new lung and
the main airway of the new lung are attached to your main blood vessels and airway. Sometimes a heart-lung
machine is used to regulate blood flow and oxygen supply during the procedure. In that case, a small
incision is made in the groin to connect the patient’s circulation to the machine.
After surgery, the patient’s own remaining lung will continue sending messages about coughing and breathing,
but the new lung will not. This is because the transplanted organ will not have the same nerve attachment
as the patient’s own. The patient may feel a sensation of breathlessness from the remaining diseased lung.
Double Lung (Bilateral) Lung Transplants:
In this type of transplant, the surgeon makes an incision across the middle of the chest just below the
breast. The operation is conducted in two stages: the first diseased lung is removed and replaced with a
donor lung. Then the process is repeated on the second lung.
After surgery, the patient will not feel irritation below the bronchial connection and won’t be stimulated
to cough spontaneously when infection or secretions in the lungs exist. For that reason, respiratory
therapists, physical therapists, and nurses provide chest physiotherapy immediately after transplant and
throughout the hospital stay. The patient will also learn routines and techniques to help maintain a clear
airway at home, and pulmonary function tests will be performed at specific intervals after discharge.
Please call or have your physician call Tampa General at 1-800-505-7769 or 1-813-844-7137 and speak to
a transplant coordinator.
To help us evaluate your case, your doctor will be asked to send your records to the transplant team so
we can review your medical history.
The records should include demographics with insurance information, progress notes, a history and
physical, lab results, and procedure reports. These records should be current from the last six months
up to a year.
Our physician will review these records and send a written decision to your doctor about your eligibility
for an initial consultation. If you are going to be seen here, your insurance will be verified. Once
that’s completed, we’ll contact you for an appointment and send you a new patient packet that includes
a medical history survey, map and directions to our facility, a list area hotels offering discounts, a
transplant candidate registration request form, consent form, and pamphlet with general patient information.
If your condition is stable, you will have an initial visit at Tampa General to determine whether
transplantation is an appropriate therapy for your illness.
Located behind the stomach, the pancreas is a small gland that is responsible for producing enzymes for
digestion and for producing insulin, a hormone that regulates the level of sugar in a person’s blood.
Candidates for pancreas transplants generally are age 45 or younger and have type 1 diabetes, a disease
in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin. People with type I diabetes must take daily insulin
injections to stay alive. Candidates also must not have other health conditions that would place them at
high risk of complications from major surgery.
The pancreas transplant program was initiated at Tampa General in February 2001. Since then, more than
20 pancreases have been transplanted here.
Candidates fall into three groups:
Group 1: People who are candidates for a combined kidney and pancreas transplant. They have kidney
failure from diabetes but are otherwise in acceptable health. Most people who receive a donor pancreas
fall into this group.
Group 2: People who have already received a kidney transplant and now need a pancreas transplant
to control their diabetes.
Group 3: People who have diabetes and are not experiencing kidney problems, but who could benefit
from a pancreas transplant to control their diabetes and prevent complications. People in this category
experience frequent and severe bouts of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
that require medical attention. Other candidates are those whose insulin therapy is not successfully
controlling blood sugar.
Group 1 has the highest success rate from pancreas transplantation. Approximately 85 percent of people
who receive a combination kidney/pancreas transplant no longer require insulin a year after surgery. In
group 2, the number of people off insulin a year after the transplant is 70 percent. In group 3, it’s 60
percent. As more effective immunosuppressive drugs are developed, survival odds are expected to improve.
There are many possible reasons that a combination kidney and pancreas transplant has a higher success rate.
One is that the pancreas induces a much stronger immune response than a kidney. Therefore, a pancreas
transplant alone often requires larger doses of immunosuppressive drugs, including steroids, that can
jeopardize kidney function and the transplanted pancreas.
How To Refer A Pancreas Patient
Please call or have your physician call LifeLink at 1-800-202-5775 or 813-472-5303.
Your doctor will be asked to send your records to the transplant team so we can review your medical history.
The records should include demographics with insurance information, progress notes, a history and physical,
lab results, and procedure reports. These records should be current from the last six months up to a year.
Our physician will review these records and send a written decision to your doctor about your eligibility
for an initial consultation. If you are going to be seen here, your insurance will be verified. Once that’s
completed, we’ll contact you for an appointment and send you a new patient packet that includes a medical
history survey, map and directions to our facility, a list of discounted hotels, a transplant candidate
registration request form, consent form, and pamphlet with general patient information.
In case of emergency or a hospital-to-hospital referral, the transplant coordinator will review your
medical records with the physician who will oversee your care. If there are no contraindications to
transplant, you will be transferred to Tampa General as soon as possible.
If your condition is stable, you will have an initial visit at LifeLink to determine whether
transplantation is an appropriate therapy for your illness.
A ventricular assist device (VAD) is a mechanical device that helps a weakened heart by taking on some
of its workload. It works by taking over the pumping action of a failing heart ventricle to provide
adequate blood circulation throughout the body.
VADs can be used for three specific purposes:
As a bridge to recovery: A VAD can be used to support a patient after a difficult bypass surgery but is removed in a few days when the patient's heart recovers.
As a bridge to transplant: A VAD can be used to support a patient until a donor heart becomes available.
As destination therapy: Some VADs can be implanted permanently for long-term therapy in patients with
severe heart failure who are not candidates for heart transplantation.
Tampa General’s Mechanical Circulatory Support Program offers a variety of devices. From 1996 to early 2002,
AbioMed and Novacor were the sole devices used to support patients waiting for transplantation. In April
2002, we added the Thoratec and HeartMate systems, which provide long-term support.
As of December 30, 2008, over 150 patients have received VAD support at Tampa General either as a bridge to
recovery or transplant, or as a destination therapy, making us one of the busiest centers in the nation to provide VAD
therapy.
The specific device that is best for you will be determined by your surgeon based on your situation and
body type.
Tampa General is a member of the Heart Hope Consortium of Ventricular Assist Device Centers. This
consortium is committed to providing their patients with the continuum of advancements in the treatment
of heart failure.
The initial visit is the first step in the transplantation process for eligible patients, for any organ.
During this visit, you will meet a transplant coordinator and the primary physician who will direct your
progress through the transplant evaluation process. This visit allows these transplant team members to
review your medical history , current medications and to answer your questions.
You’ll be asked to bring any laboratory test results, x-rays, or EKGs and a current list of your medications
to this visit. You may eat, drink, and take your medications as usual.
This appointment may take three to four hours. The results may be one of the following:
Your condition is too early to be considered for transplantation
Further diagnostic tests are needed to further investigate your illness. These tests can be done
through your personal physician.
You have other medical conditions that do not allow us to consider you for transplantation because
transplant surgery would be more harmful to you than beneficial.
There are no absolute contraindications noted and your condition warrants a full transplant evaluation
in the near future. In that case, the transplant physician will discuss his/her opinion with you before
your visit ends.
The Transplant Evaluation
During this phase of the transplant process, you will go through medical testing, a psychosocial
assessment, and consultations with our transplant physicians to see if you are a potential candidate
for organ transplantation. This is also a time for you and your family to learn as much about
transplantation as possible.
If your condition is stable, your evaluation may be done on an outpatient basis, and you’ll go home at
night. During the day, you’ll be assigned a private room in our outpatient clinic. The evaluation usually
takes place over three to four days. Each day’s visit will last between 10 and 12 hours. You will be able
to rest in your room between tests, and consultations and meals will be provided.
Please do not eat anything after midnight on the day before your appointment. You may drink water. We will
take fasting blood samples. The coordinator involved in your evaluation will call you before your
appointment and let you know if there are medications that we don’t want you to take.
Your test results will be presented to our Transplant Medical Review Board, which meets once a week. This
board consists of transplant physicians and specialists, not your transplant doctor or coordinator, makes
the decision about transplant candidates.
The results may be one of the following:
You are too early to be considered for transplantation
Diagnostic tests are needed to further investigate your illness. These tests can be done through your
personal physician.
You have other medical or psychosocial conditions that do not allow us to consider you for
transplantation because transplant surgery would be more harmful to you than beneficial.
There are no contraindications noted in your evaluation and the Medical Review Board has identified
you as a good candidate for transplant surgery. As soon as authorization ahs been obtained from your
insurance carrier, you will be placed on the waiting list.
Post-Op Care
Transplant surgery takes three to eight hours depending on the type of transplant surgery and the
preparation time needed.
After the operation, most patients will stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) for several days until
they are stable. However, ICU care may not be required for kidney transplant patients.
Once you’re stable enough to leave the ICU, you’ll move to the Transplant Unit for continued care and
education before discharge. While there, you and your family members will learn about anti-rejection
medications, suture line care, diet, exercise, and healthy living practices. You’ll receive written
information to read and study.
If no medical reasons prohibit it, a family member may stay in your room in the Transplant Unit. Because
transplant patients have a high risk of infection, we ask that children under 12 years of age not visit
the Transplant Unit. We will facilitate a visit with a child under 12 in a waiting room on an adjacent
unit or in the Main Lobby.
Once you’re able to leave the hospital, you’ll be discharged to the care of a family member or other
caregiver. Nurse practitioners or transplant coordinators and physicians are on call to assess problems
that occur after discharge. Please call them if you identify a problem.
Jimmy Hathcock’s heart – the one he was born with –
beats strongly in his chest, which makes him something of a medical miracle. It’s the same heart that a year ago was so badly damaged it almost killed him, and got him on a waiting list for a new one. But today he is off the transplant list and his old heart is ticking just fine.
Jimmy’s heart was saved by an Abiomed ventricular assist device (VAD), a small mechanical pump that took over his heart’s work while he waited for a transplant. In a fortunate stroke of timing, this device received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval while he was in the hospital. The VAD allowed his heart to eventually be able to work on its own.
The 66-year-old Lakeland man’s ordeal began in February 2009 during quadruple bypass surgery at another local hospital. During the operation, Jimmy suffered a heart attack. As a result, surgeons could not take him off the heart bypass machine. They contacted Tampa General transplant surgeon Dr. Cedric Sheffield, who advised them to implant Jimmy with a temporary Abiomed heart pump and send him to TGH.
Jimmy was a very sick man. His right ventricle – the heart chamber that pumps blood to the lungs for oxygenation – was damaged, and his oxygen-starved internal organs were failing. It was clear his heart could not do the work to keep him alive.
But Jimmy was too sick for a heart transplant at that point. Surgeons fitted him with an Abiomed AB5000, a smaller, portable version of the temporary Abiomed pump.
The VAD is a system of tubes connecting the heart and blood vessels to a small pump, plus a portable driver and battery pack that stay outside the patient’s body. The device takes over the heart’s role, pumping blood to the body. The Abiomed 5000 is small enough to allow patients to walk about and even leave the hospital.
Over the next two months, Jimmy walked the halls of Tampa General. At first, he found it difficult to even stand up, but as time passed, he grew stronger. In April, he became the first patient ever to go home with the Abiomed 5000. By then, his doctors were hopeful that Jimmy was becoming strong enough to avoid a transplant.
In June, tests revealed that Jimmy’s heart was beating on its own. But was it strong enough to sustain him? They began cutting back on the VAD’s function with good results. Ultimately, Sheffield and Jimmy’s cardiologist Mark Weston, MD, decided it was safe to remove the device.
The true test of the heart’s recovery came in the operating room on August 4 when the VAD was removed. When Jimmy awoke from surgery, he learned his heart had passed the test. “The first thing I did was to reach down to see if the VAD was still there. There are no words to describe how I felt,” he said.
Today, Jimmy is enjoying life; his heart is healthy and he has no worries about needing a transplant in the future, according to his cardiologist. “He’s doing fantastic,” Weston says.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Transplant Process
My appointment is at Tampa General. Where should I go, and where do I park?
Complimentary valet parking is available for your convenience at the hospital entrance by Harbourside
Medical Tower. Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment and go to the Admissions Office, fourth
floor, East Pavilion, to be registered. The transplant coordinator has given preliminary information to
the registration staff, but you must review this information. If your address, phone number, or insurance
has changed, that information must be corrected at that time. When your paperwork is completed, you’ll be
directed to the Transplant Clinic.
My appointment is at LifeLink. Where should I go, and where do I park?
LifeLink is located at 409 Bayshore Blvd. There’s also an entrance at 302 Deleon St. Please park in the
parking garage. The clinic is on the fourth floor.
What happens if I’m not a candidate for transplantation?
Not everyone is a candidate for transplantation. The last thing we want to do is put someone through
transplant surgery who we know will not benefit from this procedure. If you’re not a candidate, a report
of your transplant evaluation will be sent to your local physician along with any recommendations that
our specialists have for your future therapy.
How long does transplant surgery take?
The time depends on the type of transplant you are having and preparation time needed. Individual times
vary significantly, but these are the average times:
How long will I be in the Intensive Care Unit after transplant surgery?
This is determined by many factors, including the type of transplant, whether you were hospitalized
before surgery, and your medical history. Kidney transplant recipients may not need to stay in the ICU
at all. For other transplant recipients, each person’s length of stay will vary, but these are the average
times:
Pancreas/kidney or pancreas transplant: 2 days
Heart transplant: 4 days
Liver transplant: 3 days
Lung transplant: 6 days
Where can my family members stay while I’m in the ICU?
Tampa General has arrangements with many local hotels and motels to provide rooms at reduced rates to
relatives of TGH patients. Please contact TGH Patient Guest Relations, at 813-844-4553 or 813-844-7249,
or tell your transplant coordinator that arrangements are needed for accommodations. The coordinator can
provide you with a current list of hotels offering reduced rates.
How can I get more information about TGH transplant programs?
Please call 1-800-505-7769 for more information about our transplant programs.
You can find more information about transplantation and organ donation at the following websites:
LifeLink of Florida
- A division of the LifeLink Foundation based in Tampa, FL.
Organdonor.gov
- The official U.S. government web site for organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
Transplant Living
- A United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) project that provides information and resources for
transplant candidates and recipients.
United Network For Organ Sharing - A non-profit, scientific and
educational organization that administers the nation's only Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network,
which was established by Congress in 1984.
One Breath at a Time
When: Second Monday of each month, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: Tampa General Hospital, Room B104, first floor, West Pavilion, inside the Food Court Dining Room
Contact: Ginger Sims, RN, 813-844-4815, or gsims@tgh.org
National Organization for Transplant Enlightenment (NOTE)
When: First and Third Tuesday of each month, noon-1 p.m.
Where: Tampa General Hospital, room 856A, eighth floor, West Pavilion
Contact: Sjonne Mabbott, 813-844-7323, or smabbott@tgh.org
Donate Life ORGANizers
The Donate Life ORGANizers is a group of dedicated transplant recipients, donor family members and other people in support of the donation cause, who work year round to educate community members about the importance of donation and how they can make a difference by choosing to donate life by joining Florida's organ & tissue donor registry. For information about this group, please call 1-800-262-5775, ext. 1079.
Meetings:
Ft. Myers: First Thursday of each month, 11:30 a.m. at Gulf Coast Medical Center, Community Room, 13681 Doctors Way, Ft. Myers (lunch provided)
Lakeland - Second Monday of each month, 6:30 p.m. at Winter Haven Hospital, Classroom F, 200 Avenue F. NE, Winter Haven
Sarasota - Third Wednesday of every other month (bi-monthly), 11:30 a.m. at Waldemere Medical Plaza (directly across street from Sarasota Memorial Hospital), Magnolia Room, 1921 Waldemere Street, Sarasota (Lunch provided. Remaining 2010 meetings will be September 15 and November 17)
Tampa - Last Thursday of every other month (bi-monthly), 12 noon at LifeLink, 4th floor Conference Room, 409 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa (Lunch provided. Remaining 2010 meetings will be September 30 and November 18)
Meeting times are subject to change. Please contact the support group coordinator for current schedules.
Regional Support Groups
Ft. Myers LifeLink ORGANizers
When: Please call the contact number for information
Where: Lee Memorial office center, room 3D
Contact: 813-253-2640
LifeLink of Southwest
When: The third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m.
Where: Sarasota Memorial Hospital, room 3D
Contact: 813-253-2640
Organ Transplant Recipients of Southwest Florida, Inc.
When: The first Thursday of each month, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Where: Southwest Regional Hospital, Ft. Myers
Contact: George Kearns at kearns46@msn.com or 941-235-0151
Meeting times are subject to change. Please contact the support group coordinator for current schedules.
Jimmy Hathcock’s heart – the one he was born with –
beats strongly in his chest, which makes him something of a medical miracle. It’s the same heart that a year ago was so badly damaged it almost killed him, and got him on a waiting list for a new one. But today he is off the transplant list and his old heart is ticking just fine.
