A Mother Receives a Lifesaving Miracle Through Unprecedented Surgery
February 27, 2026
Monica McFarlan had resigned herself to a final farewell to her children, convinced her time was nearing its end.
Monica McFarlan / 11 Alive News
After enduring heart failure for 15 years, along with a regimen of nine medications daily and numerous hospital visits, Monica faced the grim reality that her chances of survival had run out. Diagnosed at 37, she remained steadfast, but by 2023, evaluations from transplant centers nationwide left her and her family with heartbreaking news: alternatives were exhausted.
“I had two days to two weeks to live to say my goodbyes,” Monica revealed to 11 Alive.
Monica’s elevated antibody levels disqualified her from a standard heart transplant, and hospice care discussions began. The family was on the brink of the inconceivable.
Everything shifted unexpectedly with one pivotal question: “Have you ever heard of the HALT procedure?”
The HALT strategy, short for Heart After Liver Transplant, is an innovative surgical method, commencing with a liver transplant preceding a heart transplant from the same donor. This sequence allows the liver to absorb harmful antibodies, minimizing the heart rejection risk.
For Monica, this procedure presented a glimmer of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.
Dr. Victor Pretorius, Emory’s surgical director for heart transplant, explained the critical nature of the procedure.
“We had an excellent cross-match, but we knew the heart would be rejected if we didn’t follow this strategy,” he stated. “The operation was extraordinary, and it took 16 hours to complete. The biology is beautiful. A combined heart and liver transplant has protective properties in the long term and ultimately gives the patient hope and a future.”
The HALT procedure was a nascent development in 2023. Monica had faced rejection from every other center approached.
“Despite sending her to multiple centers across the country, she was denied transplant at every one,” Dr. Pretorius reported. “Our only option was to send her to hospice care for end-of-life measures. She was mentally preparing for this when the team came together and said, ‘Let’s do this.’”
This 16-hour surgical feat was successful, marking Georgia’s first and only the second-ever execution of the HALT process in the United States.
Three months post-surgery, Monica not only survives but flourishes.
“It feels good to laugh again, to feel like myself again,” she remarked.
She describes the transformative experience as miraculous.
“Oh my gosh, it was just from the lowest point of my life, telling my boys goodbye and my husband and my mom, to the highest of highs,” she shared. “I had a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance! I am just so grateful. I thank God every day. My faith has grown so strong, and my trust in Him, because without God, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
In an uplifting turn, Monica’s structurally sound liver was donated to another heart failure patient, offering a chance to save an additional life.
