ROCHESTER — Co-workers and others are celebrating a Mayo Clinic surgeon who has reached a life-saving milestone.

Dr. Chuck Rosen walked into a surprise party Thursday where he was thanked for performing his 1,000th liver transplant earlier this week.

Rosen gave the credit to the operating room specialists who he says work together like a “coordinated symphony,” citing scrub nurses, circulating nurses and the anesthesia team.

Rosen also thanked the families who have lost loved ones, making the transplants possible. He says being able to make that donation to someone they don’t even know is “an incredible act of giving.”