Heart Transplant Patient Stories

Our patient stories profile those who have had heart transplants at UPMC. Although everyone’s care experience is unique, we hope that sharing these stories will help prospective patients and their families better understand these procedures and their potential impact on patients’ lives.

Note: These patients' treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.

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Dale Crawford: Heart Transplant Patient Story

Dale is wearing a black tuxedo with a white collared shirt and red tie. He has a beard and red hair. Molly hugs him while laughing. She wears a red dress. She has long straight brown hair, half pulled back.

Dale Crawford works as a neurodiagnostic technologist at UPMC Presbyterian, but soon after he started to experience health problems in December of 2020, the young man with a passion for helping patients became a patient himself.

Read Dale Crawford's story

Linda Lewis – A Valentine’s Day Heart

Linda Lewis received a transplant on Valentine's Day 2021. Read her patient story.

In February 2020, Linda began to feel exhausted and had difficulty breathing and walking. She was referred to the UPMC Heart Transplant Program, where she was placed on the heart transplant waiting list. On Valentine’s Day 2021, Linda received her new heart and began the road to recovery.

Read Linda's story

Lisa Tork: Cardiogenic Shock and Cardiomyopathy

When Lisa Tork wasn’t feeling well at the start of November 2018, she thought she simply had the flu. But by the middle of the month, she still couldn’t shake the illness, and it wasn’t long before the situation turned worse.

Read Lisa Tork's story