MIAMI (WSVN) - A young girl is now part of history at the Miami Transplant Institute after having a successful transplant.
She owes her life to the surgeons at the medical facility and so do many other former patients.
“The Miami Transplant Institute at Jackson Memorial Hospital is now the largest transplant program in the United States,” said President and CEO of Jackson Health System Carlos Migoya.
The Miami Transplant Institute claimed top honors in the U.S. and were recognized for performing more organ transplants than any other hospital in the nation in 2019.
“MTI performed a record breaking 747 organ transplants,” said Migoya. “You can’t forget that number — 747, like the planes. Remember that.”
Doctors thanked donors for the distinction and their role in saving lives.
“Our mission is that nobody dies on the waiting list. Why should we do this? I think the worst thing that can happen to a patient is not to get a chance to be transplanted,” said MTI Director Rodrigo Vianna, MD. “If you get a transplant, you go on with your life. A few people don’t make it, unfortunately, but at least they had a chance.”
Nine-year-old Camila Correa is one success story.
She was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver disease just months into her life.
She received her first transplant at MTI at just one year old. Since then, she has had three more transplants including a multi-organ transplant in 2019.
Surgeons gave Camila a new liver, stomach, pancreas and intestines.
After a month and a half in the intensive care unit, Camila and her family went home on Christmas Eve. They’re just one of the 747 families helped by the MTI team.
“Thank you, doctors and nurses and all the medical team,” said Correa. “Thank you for my life. I love you, and God bless you.”
The Miami Transplant Institute encourages everyone to become an organ donor. They said that one organ donor can save eight lives.
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