Topic:  Transplant Story of a Rare Heart & Liver Transplant

Speaker:   Ms. Susan Long

The next OTS educational/support meeting will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025.  This meeting will be held on Zoom, starting at 7pm CST.  The speaker for this meeting will be Ms. Suan Long, who received a heart and liver transplant on February 20, 2023. 

Sue lives in Southern California, and she was originally told by doctors in her hometown that she was very sick and need a liver transplant.   Sue drove from California to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona to be evaluated by leaders in the transplant field at Mayo.   It was there that she learned that she would need both a heart and liver transplant. 

Sue’s case is unique and complex, because Sue’s body had a very high level of antibodies.   If the heart is transplanted first the antibodies will attack the heart and cause the new heart to be rejected.   Because of this, Sue’s surgery had to be performed in reverse order.   The liver was transplanted first , and the heart was preserved using new “heart-in-a-box” technology, until it was ready to be transplanted.  

Sue Long will explain much more about her transplant journey at the next OTS meeting,  This is a perfect example of how the transplant team at the Mayo Clinic designed a solution for Sue’s unique medical issues, which successfully saved her life. 

This OTS virtual meeting is free and is open to all pre and post-transplant recipients and their families.  We will email the Zoom login information the day before this meeting.   Mark your calendar now for this fascinating OTS meeting on Friday, November 7.