In 1984, 5-year-old Amie Garrison from Indiana urgently needed a liver transplant due to a rare bile duct disorder. With few hospitals worldwide offering the procedure, her family came to Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) in Dallas, which was just about to launch its transplant program.
Led by Dr. Goran Klintmalm, a team at BUMC successfully performed the surgery, marking the beginning of what would grow into an internationally recognized transplant program. Over the last 40 years, BUMC’s program has achieved numerous “firsts” at state, national and global levels, providing hope and new beginnings for more than 11,000 patients.
Here, we highlight key milestones of the BUMC transplant program and how philanthropy has helped expand the program. We also share stories from patients who’ve received a second chance at life.
BUMC transplants, by the numbers
Grateful transplant patients share their stories
Kennedy Ngungutau
Heart transplant recipient
“I wake up every day with the goal of making every beat count.”
Since his surgery, Kennedy became a father and connects with fellow heart transplant patients, offering support and perspective on life beyond recovery.
Lisa Barker
Liver transplant recipient
“Receiving the gift of life has allowed me to celebrate 11 extra birthdays and wedding anniversaries and granted me the joy of becoming a mom to my two precious sons. I am forever thankful for my organ donor and team at Baylor who saved my life.”
Since her surgery, Lisa and her husband,
Reid, have adopted two children, and
Reid donated one of his kidneys to a
friend whose kidneys had failed him.
Madison Gibbs
Uterus transplant recipient
“I walked up to her, and I just started crying. I could not tell her ‘thank you’ enough times to be able to do this.”
Madison is now a mother of two
after receiving a uterus transplant
from donor Janice Bage.
Amie Garrison
Liver transplant recipient
Amie Garrison and her parents after her 1984 liver transplant—the very first at Baylor University Medical Center.
How philanthropy supports transplant services and patients at BUMC
Donor investment supports research, education and programs that advance transplant medicine. Donors can partner with the Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute to help change more lives with an organ transplant. Here’s how:
Train the next generation of leaders in transplant medicine.
We are currently training 12 fellows and, to date, we’ve trained more than 50 transplant surgeons to advance the field and serve patients locally and globally. By growing the number of physicians trained in the state, we’re expanding the physician pipeline and increasing the number of future leaders who can care for Texas communities.
Enhance programs that support patients.
Transplant patients face a complex medical journey before their surgery and throughout the remainder of their lives after a transplant. Baylor Scott & White invests in programs and resources that support the holistic needs of our transplant patients.
Fund research to inform the future of care.
Research seeks solutions to the most complex issues in transplantation. From ethics to immunology, we are advancing research to find better ways to care for patients before, during and after transplant. Philanthropy funds investigator-initiated studies and provides resources to make discoveries and impact national policies.
