TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa General Hospital recently ranked number one in the nation as it has done more organ transplants than any other hospital.
There are patients behind the numbers talking personal about all the surgeries you add to set up a record.
Sarah Houseman has something to talk about. The 37-year-old was given a second and third chance in his life for an organ transplant.
“I am extremely grateful. A year and a half have passed and it's been a challenging recovery,” he said, saying the health challenges began early. She was born with cystic fibrosis.
“In that condition, you're born from the start with lung problems, and over time you'll be born with a chronic infection, leading to permanent lung damage,” she said.
Her first double lung transplant was in 2019 and her second surgery was in 2023.
“It happened when I had a community and we noticed a sudden decline,” Hausman said of the second transplant.
After the surgery, she says she's made progress. Spectrum Bay News 9 caught up with her by doing personal training with her personal trainer at least twice a week.
Two transplant recipients say she is currently training for a new purpose.
You can say she is working hard to observe Houseman. She says she's competing at World port game In August, Germany will also help raise awareness of organ donation and demonstrate the success of transplant surgery.
“So I decided to compete in the swimming field, so that's what I've been working on,” Houseman said.
Her surgeon, Dr. Ganders Katrapus, has also been successful.
“I'm really, really happy. I'm really proud of how she did it and how she recovered,” Dr. Katrapps said. TGH's lung transplantation director said re-implementation is rare.
“When you go back for the second time, there's no easy way to do that,” Katrapps said.
But the team TGH Transplant Research Institute did. In effect, Tampa General Hospital's number of implants has risen significantly since 2020 when 611 implants were performed. In 2024, a record 889 ports were made.
Housman shares photos from his recovery journey, so he has relationships with hundreds of other recipients.
“This was my first time after my first transplant and relearn how to get up and walk,” she said. “This is the first of many good steps going forward.”
Houseman says she continues to take those steps in many ways. When she trains for competition, the former mental health counselor also mentors others who experience the organ transplant process. And in all her training sessions at the gym and pool, she is grateful that she is ready to pick money.
“I think that's amazing, yeah, it's going to be something to celebrate,” she said.
The athlete adds that she is still trying to raise funds for the competition and wants to secure sponsors.
Tampa General Hospital reports that in 2024 it had performed the following steps:
*500 kidneys
*110 Live Donor Kidney
*279 Liver
* 5 live donor liver
*51 Heart
*42 Lungs
* 3 hearts and lungs
*14Kidney and Pancreas
