Starting the Year Off Right

Good morning and happy new year!

We are nearing the end of the first week of 2024, and I want to start this new year on a positive note. And the top story in eCV on Tuesday certainly meets that criterion. I want to share the fantastic news about the 14-person, 7-kidney swap that our surgery teams carried out last month. 

I really like the graphic included with the story that visualizes what a coordinated organ swap looks like.

This is the magic that can happen when thoughtful, compassionate Mississippians who are willing to donate an organ – the gift of life – are paired with skilled, dedicated medical professionals who can make that gift a reality. 

The most vital components necessary to make this type and level of multi-person transplant possible are living donors. Without their generosity, the dotted lines in the above image would not be possible. To those people, I extend my deepest appreciation.

To Dr. Chris Anderson, chair of surgery, and his University Transplant team and all of the many other clinicians and professionals who participated in this project, I say bravo and thank you. You’ve proven, yet again, why you are one of our state’s most vital resources, changing lives each day.

If you have not yet watched the video story on this 7-way swap produced by Win Graham and our Media Production team, I encourage you to do so. It well summarizes the importance of our ability to do this and how much coordination it takes. And through interviews with some of the donors and recipients, you get a real, first-hand, view of the impact felt by the people who get a new lease on life and the “heroes” who feel blessed that they were able to help out their own loved one by donating a kidney to a stranger.

We are off on the right foot for this year. Let’s keep this momentum going, and one day when we look back in the Medical Center’s history, we will remember that 2024 was a gigantic step forward toward A Healthier Mississippi.