"How do you thank someone for saving your life? I was dying and Mayo Clinic gave me hope." In 2025, Randy Ramey underwent a liver transplant combined with double coronary bypass surgery, followed by a kidney transplant last month.
PHOENIX - The Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic in Arizona achieved the highest transplant volume in history in 2025 by performing 917 solid organ transplants in one year, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Over the past five consecutive years, Mayo Clinic in Arizona has performed more adult solid organ transplants (heart, lung, kidney, pancreas and liver) than any other transplant center in the U.S. Mayo also previously received national recognition for performing the world's first total larynx transplant on a patient with active cancer.
As a result of this level of experience in Arizona, patients across the state and the Southwest have access to the best in transplant medicine close to home. Transplants are among the most complex procedures in modern medicine. Centers that perform them frequently are known to have lower complication rates and better outcomes because these highly skilled teams are developing the national best practices and know how to manage complications across the patient care journey.
"This milestone reflects the power of an integrated approach to transplant care and what's possible when extraordinary teams come together with a singular focus: getting the gift of life to people who need it most," says Bashar Aqel, M.D., transplant hepatologist and director of the Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "Our teams in Arizona are supported by the depth of expertise across Mayo Clinic, allowing us to care for patients with extraordinary complexity while advancing transplant medicine as a whole."
Watch: Dr. Bashar Aqel discusses importance of organ donation
