The Ultimate Gift

The transplant program at Baylor All Saints celebrates five years of service.

Giving someone a second chance at life is the ultimate gift. And as of this month, the transplant program at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth has been facilitating such lifesaving gifts for five years in the Fort Worth community.

"The program is going extremely well," says Marlon Levy, M.D., surgical director of the transplant program and a physician on the medical staff at Baylor All Saints. "We've completed more than 400 transplants in a five year period."

Those 400-plus transplants include liver, kidney and pancreas transplantations, most of which come from local sources. The wait time is relatively short in Fort Worth compared to national statistics, Dr. Levy says.

"There is a strong sense in our community that organ donation does a lot of good," Dr. Levy says. "We are very grateful for the community's support. It wouldn't be possible without them."

How Far We've Come
Not only has Baylor All Saints' transplant program performed many transplantations in its five years, it also has a high success rate. Baylor started doing transplants at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas in 1984, so we have a lot of shared expertise, says Mike Donnell, vice president of transplant services at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth.

Where We're Going
The transplant program has made great strides in five years. And it's looking to make even greater strides in the years to come. "We've pretty much doubled our volume year after year," Donnell says. "Now, we want to continue to grow the program, optimize our clinical outcomes and focus on patient care. In addition to our clinical presence, we're expanding many specialties in Fort Worth, including nephrology, rheumatology, cardiology and radiology. We've had a very positive impact on the community."

By Shelley Flannery