Heart and lung transplant patients celebrate the gift of life

Esteban Jaramillo, 38, received a double lung transplant at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this past August after both of his lungs collapsed. He had faced health challenges in the past, having undergone a bone marrow transplant 14 years ago, but he didn't expect to develop a lung condition as well. Despite these hardships, Jaramillo remained hopeful. "Since I was a kid my grandma told me to have a lot of faith," he said. "UCLA is a place where miracles of science really happen. I got my life back here." Jaramillo's success story is one of many that were celebrated recently at the UCLA Heart and Lung Transplant holiday event, which was attended by more than 300 transplant patients, their families and several members of the transplant team. The annual event celebrates "the remarkable accomplishments of the last year and our patients' incredible stories of hope and inspiration," said Dr. Abbas Ardehali , surgical director of the UCLA Heart and Lung Transplant program, which is one of the largest in the United States.