Back-to-back triple-organ transplants on the Big Brains podcast



Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, says that transplantation is a “spiritual journey.” One person’s tragic loss leads to the another’s second chance at life. But not all transplants are the same.

In 2018, patients Daru Smith and Sarah McPharlin were both waiting on the donor list for not one but three organs. They were to be only the 16th and 17th triple organ transplant patients. But a shocking coincidence would push their doctors to attempt a medical feat no one has ever attempted.

Hear more about their extraordinary story on Big Brains, a podcast about the pioneering research and pivotal breakthroughs at the University of Chicago.

Subscribe to Big Brains on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

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World's First Back-to-Back Heart-Liver-Kidney Transplants

UChicago Medicine physicians made history in December 2018 after performing two triple-organ transplants within 27 hours, replacing the failing hearts, livers and kidneys of 29-year-olds Sarah McPharlin and Daru Smith.