November 30, 2017

Thanks given during 50-year celebration of Loma Linda University Health's organ transplantation program

Infant heart transplant pioneer Leonard Bailey, MD, speaks with former acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, MPH, at the 50th-anniversary celebration of organ transplantation at Loma Linda University Health.

Loma Linda University Health celebrated its 50-year legacy of providing organ transplantation to inland Southern California, and beyond, during an anniversary luncheon Nov. 19 that highlighted the marvel of medical innovators and skilled surgeons as well as the generosity of donors and donor families.

“Loma Linda has been an important and critical part in this field for half a century,” said former acting U.S. surgeon general and organ donation ambassador, Rear Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, MPH, in his guest keynote address. 

But at the “heart of donation and transplantation,” he said, is the human element, a legacy made possible by everyday people. Organ donation, either by living donors or by deceased donors and their families, is the “greatest gift that one person can give another,” Moritsugu said.

“The ripples of donation and transplant cross the nation in this lifesaving quest,” he said.

Read the full story about the transplantation anniversary at news.llu.edu and hear about the past, present and future of transplantation at Loma Linda University Health in this video:

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