Baptist Heart Institute and Mid-South Transplant Foundation hosted Heart to Heart: Honoring the Gift of Life on National Donor Day, Friday, Feb. 14 at Garrett Auditorium on the campus of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. This powerful and emotional event brought together nine heart transplant recipients with their donor families for the first time. It was the largest known meeting of heart transplant recipients and donor families.
Dr. Dmitry Yaranov, program director of Baptist Heart Institute’s Advanced Heart Failure Program, welcomed guests. Dr. William Mullinax, medical director of Palliative Care for Baptist Medical Group, gave the invocation.
“Donors’ gift of life makes it possible for some patients with advanced heart failure to have a second chance at life. We are so thankful for these compassionate choices that allow us to continue this lifesaving work,” said Dr. Yaranov.
Action News 5 Chief Meteorologist Ron Childers, whose late mother received a heart transplant at Baptist Memphis in 1995, facilitated the first-time meetings between donor families and the nine recipients who shared their transplant stories.
Baptist Memphis has performed nearly 500 heart transplants since the program’s inception in 1985. A heart transplant patient’s team includes surgeons, transplant cardiologists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, transplant coordinators, dietitians, social workers, psychologists, physical therapists, financial coordinators and other clinicians — but none of it would be possible without donors.
Renee Hatcher, administrative director of transplant services, said Baptist was honored to host the event and witness the meetings between donor families and recipients. She noted, “Heart to Heart provided an opportunity for recipients to express gratitude for the life-changing gift of donation and for donor families to witness the impact of their loved one’s decision to donate. It reinforced the deep human connection behind transplantation.”
Dr. Brian Bruckner, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, said heart transplant recipients can do many everyday activities they were previously too sick to do before transplant surgery. He commented, “It was rewarding for our surgical team and other providers involved to thank the donor families for their loved ones’ incredible gifts.”
Ashley Salameh, transplant coordinator with Baptist Memphis, said, “This event was a heartfelt reminder of the unspoken bonds that unite us and the hope that organ donation creates.”
