(CBS News) – For months, the 58-year-old waited, often receiving painful shocks from her LVAD and pacemaker as they tried to keep her heart functioning. Her body was also producing too many antibodies, which put her at high risk for rejecting any organs she received. Her transplant cardiologist, Dr. Pareg Patel, tested multiple medications, including chemotherapies, to reduce the antibodies. The process was “very scary,” she said.

One day, Patel came to her with another option: She could have a liver transplant, in addition to the new heart. It might solve the antibody problem. There was just one catch: A heart-liver transplant had never been done in someone with an LVAD before. Her other option was palliative care. (Read More)