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.
Doug’s long battle with heart disease, from hypertension to coronary artery disease and ultimately heart failure, led to his lifesaving heart transplant in April 2023. After months of recovery and exceptional care, he returned to work that September. Today, he remains a valued part of the UPMC community, sharing resilience and kindness throughout the facilities.
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.
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.
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.
