Feb. 16, 2023 — UF Health’s lung transplant program and liver transplant program are among the nation’s best, according to data recently released from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, or SRTR.

The UF Health lung transplant program outcomes establish it as best in Florida and top five across the country. Per the January 2023 data, patients who are admitted to UF Health can expect excellence in key lung transplant metrics, like survival on the organ waitlist and one-year survival rates post-transplant.

“These numbers represent people who have entrusted their care to us and we have been able to reward that trust,” said Mindaugas Rackauskas, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the division of thoracic surgery and surgical director of the lung transplant program. “Our dedicated team works with each of our patients, tailoring their care to optimize their outcome.”

UF Health is also home to the liver transplant program with the highest one-year liver graft survival in the United States, according to the SRTR data released this month. At 98.97%, the program’s success rate outstrips the national survival rate of 91.89%.

Put simply: A patient who undergoes a liver transplant at UF Health Shands Hospital is not only more likely to survive and recover from a difficult procedure, but also to continue to thrive a year later. At UF, the chance of graft failure in the first year is 75% lower than national average, according to SRTR.

“The initial procedure, and how well it is executed, is one key to a smooth recovery,” said Thiago Beduschi, M.D., director of the abdominal transplant program and chief of transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at UF Health. “But it is the skills, and experience of the teams we work with that allow us to take on some of the most complex cases, and not only treat them, but see the patients go on to live fulfilling lives far beyond what they dreamed was possible at the time of diagnosis.”