ATLANTA - Monica McFarlan was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the age of 37. For the past 15 years, she has lived with two separate left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) to keep her alive. During that time, she experienced a heart attack, a stroke and was told by another hospital to prepare for the end of her life.
“That was hard. I gathered my family and all my close friends and said my goodbyes,” says McFarlan, now 52.
In preparing for the worst possible outcome, she was still determined to find a solution to help her live. That’s when she found the HALT procedure which stands for heart-after-liver transplant. The dual organ transplant is now performed at Emory University Hospital.
“Monica was highly sensitized. She developed antibodies which meant that almost every donor for a new heart would be rejected. The HALT was the best option for a chance at survival,” explains Victor Pretorius, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon at Emory Healthcare.
The innovative dual organ procedure replaces the old liver with a new donor liver. The new liver acts like a sponge and absorbs the sensitized antibodies making a way for the patient’s body to accept a new heart. The old heart is then replaced with a new heart from the same donor, all in one surgical setting.
“The liver in and of itself plays a central role in immunological reactions. It provides you with a significant amount of protection against acute rejection and hopefully against the potential for chronic rejection.” says Marwan Kazimi, MD, liver transplant surgeon at Emory Healthcare.
McFarlan is the first patient in Georgia to undergo the HALT procedure and is looking forward to sharing her experience with people who have similar situations to hers.
