Transplant Program Marks Eighth Year

UCLA Medical Center’s Liver Transplant Program marked its eighth year of operation recently with an anniversary celebration for 800 former patients, family members and hospital staff.

Nearly 1,000 liver transplants have been performed at UCLA Medical Center since the program started, making it the second-largest liver transplant facility in the country.

Last year, medical center physicians performed a rare liver and small bowel transplant on T. J. Martinez, a 20-year-old man from New Jersey. It was only the 15th time the procedure has been done in the world. Martinez was unable to eat solid food for three years prior to his recovery and had to be fed intravenously.