AdventHealth announced on Apr. 3 the successful completion of its first living donor liver transplant through a new program at AdventHealth Orlando, marking a significant milestone for both the hospital and patients in Central Florida.
The launch of this program is important because it provides more timely access to lifesaving transplants for people with advanced liver disease, especially children who may face long waits for deceased donor organs.
The surgery involved a four-year-old boy, Nolan Smith, who received part of a healthy liver from Sophie Byroade, a 23-year-old woman who volunteered after seeing his story online. “Knowing that I was able to help, not only him but (also) his family is really a blessing,” said Byroade. “I guess, technically, I gave him the gift of life and it’s just kind of surreal that I did that. It’s very cool! And the staff (at AdventHealth Transplant Institute) is amazing. If I were to do this again, I wouldn’t go anywhere else.” Both Byroade and Smith traveled from Jacksonville to undergo the procedure at AdventHealth Orlando and are reported to be recovering well.
Dr. Ryan Day, director of the institute’s living donor program and one of the surgeons involved in the operation, said: “This is one of the most complex procedures in medicine. Having the capability to perform it puts our team in rarefied air and now that we’re doing this surgery, there’s nothing else that we can’t do. What matters most is what this makes possible for our patients, giving more people the chance to get expert care sooner and closer to home, surrounded by the support they need.” The institute’s new program is currently unique within Central Florida and among only eleven such programs in southeastern United States.
Mary Albers, vice president of AdventHealth Transplant Institute said: “A young woman stepped forward to help someone she had never met, and our team had the privilege of helping make that extraordinary gift possible.” Dr. Dellys Soler added: “For children with advanced liver disease, timing can make a critical difference… Living donor transplantation gives us another way to help young patients get the care they need sooner and continue growing and thriving.” In living donor transplants like these surgeons remove part of a healthy person’s liver; both portions regenerate within weeks.
According to adventhealthorlandonews.com, AdventHealth Orlando was founded in 1908 as a training hospital with pediatric facilities; its current president is Terry Shaw.
The hospital says its transplant institute has performed over 7,000 solid-organ transplants since 1973. With ongoing efforts like these new procedures using living donors instead of waiting lists for deceased organs may increase patient survival rates across Florida.
