Patient Stories
Find your care
Our organ transplant specialists are among the most experienced in the country. To request an appointment, call 310-825-2631.
Here are some inspiring stories from our transplant donors, recipients and staff:
![Joe Patient Story Transplant](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/Joe76x90.jpg?itok=cd2gAxtF)
Cornea Transplant - Joe
Corneal transplantation, which replaces a patient's damaged cornea with donor corneal tissue, is the most common and most successful type of human transplant surgery.
![Penelope Patient Stories Transplant](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/Penny76x90.jpg?itok=6dlBFnKs)
Berlin Heart – Penelope
Penelope Gordon was among those youngsters facing an uncertain future when she was airlifted to UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital after becoming desperately ill following a visit to her great-grandparent's house.
![Brandie Patient Story](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/BrandiewithGrandma2.jpg?itok=T4Xx6x1R)
![Gaston and Luis Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/Luis76x90.jpg?itok=SftlB4hC)
![Pam Patient stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/Pam76x90.jpg?itok=difnzVMB)
![Alan & Blyden Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/alanblyden76x90.jpg?itok=bKtPhGUU)
![Kidney Transplant Patient Story](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/nogreaterlove.jpg?itok=fuWNouA2)
![Kidney Donor Swap Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/kidneyswap1.jpg?itok=j_yUrS-X)
![Organ Donation Goals News Article](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/donation76x90.jpg?itok=WP2thYRO)
Patients such as Lois Tumanello, who received a successful lung transplant at 65, are proving that perhaps age does not always matter.
![NY to LA Donor Transplant Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/triplekidneyswap.jpg?itok=06i0z8T2)
NY-to-LA Living-Donor Transplant Chain
Innovative donor chain performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
![Brian Liver Transplant Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/kidneychainsurgery76x90.jpg?itok=zw6Mj9-s)
Brian Hinsley is a firefighter-paramedic who was diagnosed with a terminal liver disease over eighteen years ago. With the relentless support from his wife and his faith, he battled the disease until he received a liver transplant at the age of 40.
![Leiauna Liver Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/leiauna-anderson.jpg?itok=vnhcIjcq)
Eight months into her pregnancy, Leiauna Anderson lost her child, and she almost lost her life as well. It took a liver transplant to save her.
![Vinny Jesus Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/Vinny76x90.jpg?itok=guCyv7ZU)
Intestinal / Liver Transplant – Vinny Jesus & Roberta
In 1984, UCLA was one of a handful of centers in the U.S. that was ready to explore the field of heart transplantation at a time when the technologies and therapies required to support such an innovative program were still being refined.
![Jennifer Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/Jennifer76x90.jpg?itok=8OGFkdAg)
Double Lung Liver Transplant - Jennifer
Jennifer Golden, a 19-year-old college student from Las Vegas, got her Christmas gift early this year — a pair of life-saving lungs and a liver at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Dec. 4
![5000th Liver Transplant Patient Stories](/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_003000_120/public/images/transplant5000_76x90.jpg?itok=iHGZY8aq)
UCLA Performs 5000th Liver Transplant
On September 26, 2010, the UCLA Liver Transplant team performed their 5,000th liver transplantation.