Q. When was the Scenic City’s first kidney transplant?
A. On Sept. 26, 1989, Robin Taylor, 21, received a kidney donated from her mother, Joyce Fowler, 47, at Erlanger hospital, according to a story four days later in the Chattanooga News-Free Press.
Taylor had fought glomerular nephritis, a chronic kidney disease, for eight years prior to the surgery. She started dialysis several months before the procedure.
Drs. Bill Russell and Joel Clement would operate on the donor, according to a preview of the surgery on the front page of the News-Free Press two days before the procedure, while Dr. Dan Fisher, Dr. Phil Burns and Dr. Michael Greer would operate on the recipient. All five were affiliated with University Surgical Associates.
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The surgeons removed Fowler’s right kidney and placed it above Taylor’s left hip while leaving her two nonfunctioning kidneys in place, according to the Sept. 30, 1989, News-Free Press.
Fisher, surgical director of the Kidney Transplant Center at Erlanger, said neither patient experienced complications.
“If every one of the transplants could go this well, we’d do one every day,” he said. “It’s a great start. It’s the beginning of a first-class health delivery system that this area has never had before.”
Before the Taylor-Fowler procedure, Chattanoogans had to travel to Nashville, Birmingham or Atlanta to receive a new kidney.
Taylor told reporters in a press conference three days after the surgery she was already feeling better.
“I just want to go home and get back to normal,” she said.
Fowler, her mother, told reporters she slept for two days after the procedure.
“I’m fine,” Fowler said. “I’m just glad it’s over.”
The News-Free Press reported the cost of the procedure was expected to be $30,000 (about $77,000 in 2025 dollars). The paper reported the evaluation and hospital costs for the donor would be reimbursed by Medicare. For the recipient, Medicare would cover the evaluation and workup, with either Medicare or the patient’s private insurance covering the hospital and surgery costs.
Taylor died in 2010 at age 41 after a long battle with cancer, according to her obituary in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She was survived by her husband, Shannon Miller, two daughters and a grandson.
Fowler died in 2019 at age 76, according to her obituary in the Times Free Press.
Do you have Chattanooga related trivia to share or a question you’d like answered? Email news@timesfreepress.com with subject line Chattanooga Knows.