Lahey Hospital & Medical Center Honors Transplant Patients

Burlington, MA – On Wednesday, April 24, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) honored transplant donors, recipients, their families and staff at its annual Donate Life Event. Patients – both organ donors and recipients – spoke about the impact organ donation had on their life, the support of their loved ones and the care they received.

“This event allows us to recognize the selflessness of donors and show our appreciation to the patients and families who entrust us with their care,” said Mohamed Akoad, MD, Chair of the Department of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center. “Organ donation is one of the greatest gifts a person can give and this event is one small way we can show our gratitude.”

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center is a renowned leader in transplant medicine and surgery, and has operated the largest liver donor program in New England and is one of the largest in the country. It is also the only program in the United States to offer robotic living donor liver surgery. Robotic surgery assists surgeons in performing complex surgery with smaller incisions and more precision than traditional surgery. Surgeons are able to view a magnified operative site in 3-D and use intricate hand, finger, and wrist movements for precise access to otherwise difficult areas of the inner body. With minimally invasive robotic surgery, patients experience less pain and recover faster.

The hospital’s transplant program also has continued to grow, recently opening The Jenkins Transplant Institute. This institute, located within the hospital, includes a new clinical facility at LHMC’s Burlington campus. The patient-centered facility better serves patients and caregivers, housing programmatic initiatives that focus resources on improving patient outcomes.

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center performed the first successful liver transplant in New England in 1983 and the first successful living donor liver transplant in New England in 1998. Learn more about the transplant program at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center.

About Lahey Hospital & Medical Center

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) is a world-renowned tertiary academic medical center known for its innovative technology, pioneering medical treatments and leading-edge research. As a physician-led hospital, LHMC offers a legacy of care and education committed to putting the patient at the center through a multidisciplinary, collaborative and team-based approach. LHMC’s research efforts and clinical trials cross numerous medical disciplines, providing patients with access to the latest options in treatment and care.

LHMC is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.