VCU Health surgeons perform the nation’s first fully robotic liver transplant.
December 08, 2025
VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center uses the latest innovations in robotic surgical systems for several types of organ transplant procedures. (Getty Images)
By Sara McCloskey-Nieves
VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center continues to redefine what it means to give patients a second chance through lifesaving organ transplants.
Earlier this year, Quanda Jordan found herself at the center of history when she received the nation’s first fully robotic living-donor liver transplant at VCU Health’s premier transplant center.
Using robotic surgical systems for liver transplantation marks a paradigm shift. Procedures involving the liver are more complicated compared to kidney transplants, which are fairly common.
This medical milestone was recently highlighted by U.S. News & World Report, a publication that often recognizes hospitals and health systems for medical innovations.
“In the long run, maybe this kind of procedure will allow more people to get transplants when they need them,” said Seung Duk Lee, M.D., Ph.D., surgical director of Hume-Lee’s liver transplant program, in an interview with U.S. News. “I think that’s the greatest benefit with this kind of operation.”
With rates of liver disease rising in the United States, Lee told the publication that he hopes robotic surgeries will make it easier to become a living organ donor – helping more people who need lifesaving transplants.
Read the full story from U.S. News & World Report: “How a Novel Robotic Procedure Is Changing Liver Transplants at VCU”
Discover how a teacher’s living liver donation changed a life – and U.S. transplant history
