The full scale of a health care professional’s impact may not always be immediately apparent. Even with the rapport that develops between patients and providers throughout treatment and continued care, appointments offer only narrow windows into a patient’s growth and improved quality of life. To that end, administrative coordinators for the Lung Transplant Team organized an event to give team members a firsthand look at the profound impact they have on recipients both past and present.

Guests gathered at Iowa’s Athletic Hall of Fame, where the team and several former patients enjoyed a memorable evening together. Red balloons—some assembled into a large model of the lungs—readied the banquet hall for a night of reflection and celebration. Before the speaking portion of the event even began, the transplant team could find evidence of their impact lining the hall’s walls. Personal testimonies and letters from dozens of donor recipients were displayed throughout the space, and many guests paused to read them. It was impossible not to feel moved by patients’ resilience and the heartfelt descriptions of the team’s dedication.

After guests warmed up for the event over dinner and drinks, Medical Director of Lung Transplantation Julia Klesney-Tait, MD, PhD, took the podium. She began by recognizing the extraordinary coordination required for transplantation.

“We are here to recognize the level of teamwork it takes to put together a transplant program,” Klesney-Tait said. “It can take hundreds of people to get a single patient to lung transplantation, but there are only a few of us who get to see the benefits of the work being done behind the scenes. Our patients want the opportunity to thank you for all you have done for them, but they do not know each one of you.”

Klesney-Tait also spoke to the team’s impact on a larger scale, describing the process of building—and sustaining—a successful transplantation program.

Iowa briefly had a lung transplant program in the ‘90s, but it closed after its sole surgeon left the university. For nearly a decade, Iowans had no in-state option for transplantation services. Klesney-Tait and Kalpaj P. Parekh, MBBS, changed that when they rebuilt the program in 2007. Parekh had planned to share remarks at the event alongside Klesney-Tait, but he spent the evening in the operating room performing a transplant—a fitting illustration of the dedication that has driven program success since its revitalization.

A national ranking system has reinforced Iowa’s success. Five years ago, the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) developed a system to compare programs across the country on various performance parameters. The University of Iowa’s program has remained in the top 10 since these rankings began. And last year, it claimed the top national ranking in one-year patient survival rates among 76 programs nationwide.

Klesney-Tait also called attention to the NIH-funded members of the team, especially Parekh, one of only six NIH-funded lung transplant surgeons in the nation. Given how time-consuming operations are, procuring this funding is very rare. Overall, the program has secured more than $10 million in grants from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Iowa owes these distinctions to the multidisciplinary team that makes each transplant possible. The transplant process requires clinicians, nurses, and coordinators in cardiac anesthesia, surgery, and critical care. The broader team includes social workers, transplant coordinators, inpatient services, transplant pharmacists, physical therapists, pulmonary rehabilitation specialists, the bronchoscopy team, the ECMO team, and many other specialties and professionals. Klesney-Tait emphasized the importance of every role in changing recipients’ lives.

“Without any one of you, we couldn’t do it,” she said, gesturing to a photo taken during a transplant operation. “At any one time in the operating room, there are more than 15 or 16 people performing specific tasks that carry the patient to transplant. The surgery itself takes 10 to 12 hours. With all of this in mind, the University of Iowa should be very proud.”

The presentations continued as Klesney-Tait welcomed former transplant recipients to the podium. Each one described how Iowa’s transplant team has given them a new freedom.

Lindsey
“I had my second transplant operation in Iowa City. The first time, my body rejected it. So I lay with my husband and my mom, knowing I was coming out okay—or I wasn’t coming out at all. I did not want to spend those moments crying.

But everything went well. I still can’t believe the difference. I couldn’t have asked for a better second experience. Everyone here was so proactive. I cannot stand up here and thank you enough, because it has been life-changing. I have had wonderful care from this team.”

Michael
“I still remember the day I got the call. It changed everything. I want to thank all the nurses, all the doctors, everyone here. If it were not for you, I would not be here.”

Michael’s father also offered heartfelt remarks, expressing gratitude on behalf of their entire family for the care his son had received.

Douglass
“Thank you for everything you have done for all of us. Some of the most important people in my life are here tonight: my wife, my daughter, and my niece. I’d like to thank my wife first. She was there from eight in the morning until whenever you would kick her out. She never missed a day—not in 200 days.

Anne and Kylie helped me out so much. And all the surgeons—there are no better surgeons anywhere. Really, the most important person in welcoming me was each one of you. Thank you for allowing me to be here tonight. I would not be here without you. You saved my life.”

The STRT rankings, grant funding, and national accolades are meaningful measures of the team’s success. But the most powerful indicators are recipients like Lindsey, Michael, and Douglass—people who addressed a banquet hall with many strangers to say, “You saved my life.” They are among more than 300 recipients, many whose letters filled the hall with accounts of first breaths and all the quiet, post-operation milestones made possible by the program.

What the team’s celebration made most clear is that the stats and testimonies tell the same story: Iowa’s Lung Transplant team measures exceptional care in lives transformed.