IU Health Transplant

04/03/2026

Jess Gerhardt traded a career in communications to deliver the best care to heart kids on the CVICU.

04/03/2026

Nurse recovers from pancreas transplant
Mooreland, Ind. resident Karen York recently visited the transplant clinic at IU Health for perioperative management infusion. In 1989, York was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and had been insulin dependent since the age of four.
On June 24, 2020, she received a pancreas transplant in the care of Dr. Jonathan Fridell.
Brad York accompanied his wife to her visit. The two met in nursing school and have been married for 14 years. Karen works in long-term acute care.
“I originally wanted to be a diabetes educator from the time I was little but as I got older, I changed paths,” said Karen. She said her care at IU Health has been good and other than some highs and lows with her blood pressure, she has been in good health.
The Yorks are the parents to four children ranging from age 11 to 20. They enjoy family movies, and spending time on their five acres with their pets.
“The biggest change since my transplant is that I can go to bed at night knowing that my blood sugar will stay normal and I’m going to wake up in the morning.”
-By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org

04/02/2026

Mark Day, 60, has a list of things that he wants to do now that he has a second chance to live, thanks to a double lung transplant. Day received his new lungs in a 14-hour long surgery last Thursday (March 26). Wednesday afternoon as he recovers at IU Health Methodist Hospital he discussed the long journey that brought him to his transplant. He was diagnosed with stage four COPD and stage four Emphysema, which were discovered after a fall that collapsed his right lung in 2017. He has had varying degrees of complications with his lungs ever since then. Day smoked ci******es for more than four decades, but has not smoked now for more than six years. “Smoking was the biggest mistake of my life,” said Day. He feels remorse for his donor’s family and their loss, and is greatly thankful for the organ donation they made possible. “I feel so blessed. I’m getting a second chance that many people don’t get. My time was running out, and this was my last shot.” Day also emphasized his gratitude to Methodist Hospital and his care team. He described the team as “unbelievable.” As for that list of things he wants to do with his second chance to live, they include: going to Universal Studios with his son, taking his wife to the Virgin Islands, and enjoying a cup of coffee under the Eiffel Tower. April is National Donate Life Month and is observed to raise awareness about the need for organ donation. More information can be found at donatelife.net.

03/30/2026

03/24/2026

Watch heart transplant patient Jill Betts ring the bell as she graduates her post-op rehab at IU Health's Center of Life for Thoracic Transplant (COLTT).

03/19/2026

They donated the gift of life and then they took on another challenge.

03/05/2026

Transplant team members celebrate milestone

Several members of IU Health’s liver transplant program recently marked a milestone achievement. Drs. Chandrashekhar Kubal and Plamen V. Mihaylov performed the 50th living donor liver transplant surgery. IU Health started the living liver donor program in 2020, providing patients with another option toward renewed health.

Living donors help reduce the wait time for a life-saving organ, and in some cases, a living liver donor may provide the best option for transplant. Patients and donors undergo initial screenings and multiple tests and evaluations. They work with a team of transplant experts including physicians, living donor coordinators, social workers, dieticians, pharmacists, and financial coordinators.

The transplant involves removing a portion of the donor’s liver and then using it to replace the diseased liver in the recipient. The liver regenerates and returns to full function within a month.

IU Health’s Transplant Program is nationally ranked in both volume and specializations. The team has averaged 520 transplants since 2021. IU Health is the only center in Indiana approved to perform all organ transplants and the only liver, lung, and pancreas transplant program in the state. IU Health is the only living liver donor transplant program in Indiana.

The 50th living donor transplant involved a mother and son who are now recovering at home.

“It takes a well-coordinated team to perform these complex surgeries, “said Dr. Kubal, who serves as the section chief of liver and intestine transplant surgery. “I’m proud of our team and our outcomes. We now have a solid foundation that will allow us to strengthen and grow this program to help even more patients. I’m grateful to the donors who made these transplants possible. They came forward for a surgery they did not need in order to help someone else. In doing so, they also helped the next person on the waiting list.”

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) there are close to 9,000 people in the United States on the liver transplant waitlist. In 2025, IU Health performed 193 liver transplants—187 adults and six pediatric patients. The combined total is the eleventh highest volume in the U.S. The program is also recognized nationally for overall patient outcomes toward improved health.

To learn more about becoming a living liver donor: https://iuhealth.org/find-medical-services/living-liver-donation. To learn more about becoming a registered donor: https://donatelife.net/donation/donor-registries/national-donate-life-registry/

-By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org