[July 06, 2017]

Cleveland Clinic Florida Reaches 500th Transplant Milestone

Cleveland Clinic Florida, Broward County's largest provider of solid organ transplantation, conducted its 500th organ transplant on June 29, making it the fastest growing center in the state. The living donor kidney received by 21-year-old Jazmine Serrano of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was donated by her 24-year-old sister Naraly Serrano.

"Achieving this milestone in four short years is a testament to both the need for transplantation services in South Florida and the caliber of complex care available at Cleveland Clinic Florida," said Wael Barsoum, MD, President of Cleveland Clinic Florida. "Our team of nationally recognized transplant specialists has done outstanding work to provide the highest quality care and outcomes for patients in need of adult kidney, liver and heart transplantation."

Cleveland Clinic Florida received approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing to perform adult liver and kidney transplants in 2013 and adult heart transplants in 2014. To date, the center has completed 297 kidney, 157 liver and 46 heart transplantations.

The multidisciplinary team of physicians, surgeons, nurses, transplant coordinators, dietitians, pharmacists and social workers in Florida works in close collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center in Cleveland, Ohio. A pioneer in organ transplantation, having performed Ohio's first kidney transplant in 1963, Cleveland Clinic continues to advance the field, most recently in the areas of facial and uterine transplantation.

In Florida, the transplant program recently earned a top five-star rating from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) for providing the best organ transplant outcomes in kidney transplantation, making it the only transplant center in South Florida to achieve this rating for kidney transplants.

"I am proud of thekidney transplant team for achieving the five-star rating from SRTR and the entire transplant team for achieving this milestone together," added Cedric Sheffield, MD, Head of Cleveland Clinic Florida's Transplant Center. "I also want to express my gratitude to the donor families who make it possible for us to perform these life-transforming surgeries."

Nationwide more than 117,000 people are waiting for an organ, and on average 20 people die each day while waiting for a transplant, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The average length of time for a patient on the kidney transplant waiting list to receive a deceased donor kidney is five years.

Jazmine learned she had been born with one kidney in 2015 when she began experiencing extreme fatigue and rapid weight loss. Family members and loved ones were tested to determine if a match would make a donation to Jazmine possible. After learning she was the best match for Jazmine, Naraly said she wanted give her sister the gift of life. A Helphopelive.org/campaign/12605 page has been created by Naraly to help her sister defray medical expenses.

Editor's Note: B-roll of patient interviews, surgeries, physician interviews and photographs are available. Patients are also available for one-on-one interviews.

About Cleveland Clinic Florida

Cleveland Clinic Florida, located in Weston, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Parkland, is a nonprofit, multi-specialty, academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic Florida has 255 physicians with expertise in 55 specialties. The medical campus is fully integrated and includes diagnostic centers, outpatient surgery and a 24-hour emergency department located in the state-of-the-art hospital. Cleveland Clinic Florida ranked #1 among the best hospitals in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area and fifth in Florida in US News & World Report's 2016-2017 ranking of Best Hospitals metro area rankings. Cleveland Clinic Florida is an integral part of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where providing outstanding patient care is based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Physicians at Cleveland Clinic are experts in the treatment of complex conditions that are difficult to diagnose. For more information about Cleveland Clinic Florida, visit www.clevelandclinicflorida.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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