Dr. David Amrose of TGH Advanced Kidney Care, with locations in Jupiter and West Palm Beach, collaborates with Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy, the vice president and chief of the TGH Transplant Institute, when patients on Florida’s East Coast need world-class care for rare and complex conditions, including transplantation. About one year ago, the TGH Advanced Kidney Care practice aligned with the cutting-edge resources and specialists of Tampa General Hospital, one of the nation’s leading academic health systems.

The TGH Transplant Institute team recently performed its 7,500th kidney transplant — and they’re only getting started.

The Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Transplant Institute is leading the nation in meeting the growing demand for organ transplants, delivering groundbreaking advancements and shorter wait times for patients in need of these lifesaving procedures. TGH has the third-largest kidney transplant program in the country, has had the top living-donor kidney transplant program in Florida for the past three years and also has the top pediatric kidney transplant program in the state.

In December 2022, the TGH Transplant Institute performed its 7,500th kidney transplant.

“It’s an important number and milestone because year after year it shows how Tampa General has been meeting a need for these patients,’’ said Dr. Anthony Watkins, TGH’s surgical director of kidney transplant 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, lifesaving surgery.’’

Since its inception nearly 50 years ago, the TGH Transplant Institute has performed more than 12,000 total organ transplant surgeries. Last year, TGH had a record-breaking 682 transplants and was ranked sixth in the nation by volume. That total included 404 kidney transplants, 167 liver transplants, and more than 100 heart and lung transplants. Kidney transplant is the most common transplant, with 85 percent of the national waitlist composed of patients waiting for the procedure.

“Because of our success, we have made a concerted effort to care for patients on Florida’s East Coast who have relatively poor access to organ transplantation and advanced organ disease care,” said Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy, vice president and chief of the TGH Transplant Institute. “Our partnership network with Palm Beach County physicians now allows the full complement of TGH’s advanced therapies to be funneled to those patients who otherwise may not have received adequate care.”

The TGH Transplant Institute recently started a Hispanic Kidney Transplant program on Florida’s East Coast. The goal of that program is to help create a clear, compassionate and personalized process for Spanish-speaking patients and their families. The TGH Transplant Institute has assembled a bilingual team composed of surgeons, physicians, social workers, financial coordinators and support staff.

In addition to proficiency and quantity, integrity and innovation are pillars of the TGH Transplant Institute’s mission. “We’re working hard to create equitable access for all patients in our state regardless of where that patient lives, their race, ethnicity, level of education or medical savvy,” Dhanireddy added. “We’ve also gone back to our roots of innovation. We’ve been early adopters of new technologies, like machine perfusion of organs, that allow us to use more marginal organs — to transport them farther, and, therefore, provide more access to transplantation with shorter wait times. Our team is committed on a daily basis to provide greater and greater access to transplantation.”

Every 10 minutes, a person is added to the overall national transplant waiting list, according to Donate Life America.

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

For referrals and transfers to the TGH Transplant Institute, please call (561) 739-4TGH.