Member News
February 2013
Evan Pivalizza, M.D., professor and vice chairman of academic affairs in the anesthesiology department at the UT Medical School at Houston. Pivalizza was a 2011 adjunct member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Transplant Anesthesia Committee and was named to the UT Medical School at Houston’s Master Educators in 2010. The school’s annual faculty teaching award was renamed in his honor in 2009.
February 2013
St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital Celebrates Lung Transplant Milestone
St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (SLEH) recently celebrated its 20th lung transplant since re-activating its lung transplant program in February 2012 under the leadership of Hari Mallidi, MD, surgical director, Lung and Heart-lung Transplant programs, and Ramachandra R. Sista, MD, medical director, Lung and Heart-lung Transplant programs.
The milestone transplant was performed by Dr. Mallidi, who has been involved in all 20 procedures -16 lung transplants and four heart/lung transplants. SLEH’s lung transplant survival rate is one of the highest in the nation, with a one-year adult patient survival rate of 95 percent compared to the national expected survival rate of 83.82 percent.*
According to Dr. Mallidi, lung transplants may be recommended for patients with severe end-stage lung disease caused by emphysema, cystic fibrosis or chronic diseases, such as sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (permanent scarring and thickening of lung tissue) and pulmonary hypertension.
The Lung Transplant Program at St. Luke’s Cooley Transplant Center has been performing successful lung and heart-lung transplants since the 1990s, with the first adult lung transplant performed on May 2, 1994.
*Source: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients SRTR Release Date: July 12, 2012 Based on Data Available: April 30, 2012
Summer 2012
Dr. Geoffrey Land was the recipient of the Celebration of Life Award at the Methodist J.C. 
Walter Jr. Transplant Center's annual Celebration of Life event in Crain Garden in April 2012. Dr. Land is the medical director of Histocompatiblity and Transplant Immunology (HLA) in the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine. He was presented this award by Dr. Osama Gaber, medical director of transplantation for the Center, in recognition of his leadership in the transplant program and for being a vital member of the transplant team. To read more about this very special award, visit http://www.methodisthealth.com/
May 2012
Jacqueline A. Lappin, M.D., F.A.C.S., an associate professor in the Division of Abdominal Transplantation, was appointed to the Standards of Organ Transplantation Committee, by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons for 2012. The American Society of Transplant Surgeons is dedicated to fostering and advancing the practice and science of transplantation for the benefit of patients and society.
March 2012
Congratulations to TTS members Marlon Levy, of Baylor All Saints Medical Center, and Marilyn Pollack of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Lab, University Health System in San Antonio, who are two of the 25 newly elected members of the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Board of Directors. Effective June 26, Dr. Levy will serv
e as the Region 4 Councillor and Dr. Pollack will serve as the Histocompatibility Representative. The OPTN brings together medical professionals, transplant recipients and donor families to develop national organ transplantation policy. The OPTN is managed by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Division of Transplantation. The OPTN Board of Directors also serves as the Board of Directors for UNOS.
February 2012
Congratulations to TTS members Jacqueline Lappin and Kanae Ishihara of Baylor College of Medicine who discharged their first pancreas recipient from the St. Luke's Cooley Transplant Center. The recipient, Randy Hernandez of Nederland, Texas, received a living related kidney at the same time, known as a Simultaneous Pancreas and Live - donor Kidney (SPLK) transplant. Randy received the kidney from his wife Tammy. The lead surgeon, Dr. Jacqueline Lappin, has been at the forefront of this type of transplant, citing the overall improved outcomes and shorter wait-list time for this type of transplant. (read more)
January 2012
Congratulations to TTS member Dr. R. Patrick Wood who was recently named Chief Medical Officer for LifeGift. In this role, Dr. Wood will continue to help staff with donor management in all of of LifeGift's regions around the clock, chair the Medical Advisory Committee and serve as LifeGift's medical representative for community outreach and media relations.
Thanks to LifeGift News, Fall 2011 Edition, for this update.