Mother and Daughter United by a Living Donor Liver Transplant

Traci Seery and her daughter, Adrianne Fazio, share a bond that goes beyond the traditional mother-daughter relationship. In 2024, Adrianne gifted her mother a portion of her liver to save her life.

Five years earlier, Traci had been dealing with a gynecological issue that involved continuous heavy periods. She was traveling a lot and unable to get a conclusive diagnosis despite various tests until one doctor suggested she see a hepatologist (a doctor specializing in diseases of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas and biliary tract).

When the hepatologist told her that she likely had cirrhosis (permanent scarring damage) of the liver, she headed back home to Tampa, Fla. Further tests with her doctor there revealed she had steatotic liver disease (excess fat in the liver), which had caused the cirrhosis, which interferes with liver functioning and can lead to liver failure. She later found out through DNA testing that her liver disease was genetic.

“I was told that without a liver transplant, I would have about 15 years to live, if I was lucky,” says Traci. She was also told that without a transplant, she would continue to get sicker and her quality of life would diminish. She was 45 years old at the time. “I was doing the math and thinking that I did not like that.”

Since her MELD score (a number that healthcare providers calculate to determine how sick you are with liver disease) was on the low end at 14, Traci says she was “barely” eligible for the transplant list. So, on the advice of her doctor, while she waited for a liver to become available for her, she began making changes to get healthier.

She began seeing a functional medicine doctor, an acupuncturist and a dietitian who helped her deal with her symptoms and eventually lose 100 pounds through diet and exercise.

Still on the transplant list in 2022, Traci made a trip to her hometown in North Carolina for the Thanksgiving holiday. While there she began vomiting blood. She had been diagnosed with esophageal varices (swollen veins in the lining of the esophagus that usually occur with liver disease) and the veins had begun to rupture. Her sister took her to the nearest emergency room where she was treated and underwent surgery for the veins the next day.

“That was kind of the turning point,” Traci says.

She went back home to Tampa to pursue a more immediate timeline for transplant. On the advice of a friend, she sought out a second opinion and learned that living donor transplantation could be an option.

Living donor liver transplant is one of the most complex procedures in transplant medicine and requires a highly specialized surgical and medical team.

It is often considered for patients who may not receive a deceased donor liver in time, either because of organ shortages or because their disease severity does not place them high enough on the transplant priority list.

“That kind of opened our eyes to that,” Traci says. “We started researching it and then we were able to get a second opinion at Cleveland Clinic. They felt like it was a really good option for me because I was healthy otherwise, it was pretty much just my liver, and I'd gotten all my other numbers in order.”

“We were a close family before. But this has brought us even closer.”

For some patients, living donor liver transplant can offer the chance to improve both quality and length of life when a deceased donor transplant may not be possible.

Feeling that the living donor option was “the best way to go,” Traci and her husband, Jim decided to transfer her care to Cleveland Clinic in Florida and moved temporarily to Cape Coral to be within the required two-hour drive to Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital.

Jim underwent testing but was deemed incompatible to donate his liver to Traci. Though Traci was reluctant at first, Adrianne, who was 27 at the time, had just moved to Florida to help take care of her mother and was adamant that she be tested as well. She was found to be a compatible match.

Traci Seely (center) with husband Jim (left) and daughter Adrianne (right)

Traci and Adrianne both said that any concerns they had regarding the liver donation were calmed by the fact that they had the utmost confidence in the Cleveland Clinic team.

“Cleveland Clinic is the top in healthcare,” Traci says. “They do it the best and, from day one, it’s been the best experience I could have imagined.”

Living donor liver transplant is a technically demanding surgery that involves operating on two people in a single, coordinated effort. The donor surgery must be performed with the highest level of precision, while the recipient surgery requires complex vascular reconstruction and meticulous postoperative care.

As Traci got healthier in every way possible, her liver continued to deteriorate. On Sept. 26, 2024, she and Adrianne checked into Weston Hospital for the scheduled transplantation. Antonio Pinna, MD, transplant surgeon and surgical director of the Abdominal Transplant Department, and his liver transplant surgical team first operated on Adrianne, removing 65 percent of her liver. In a second surgery, they transplanted the donated liver into Traci’s body, along with a prosthetic portal vein (the blood vessel that carries blood from the abdominal organs to the liver).

Both Traci and Adrianne describe Dr. Pinna, Christopher O’Brien, MD, transplant hepatologist, and the rest of the transplant team as kind and reassuring. Both operations were successful and Traci says when she came out of surgery she “felt better than I thought I would.”

Adrianne was discharged first, a few days after her procedure. Traci remained in the hospital for about 10 days before being discharged. They stayed close to the hospital for about two weeks more and then were able to travel back home.

At about a year and a half post-transplant, Traci says she feels “amazing.” She and Adrianne have continued with the healthy habits they put in place prior to the surgeries. Traci has regular follow-ups, which many times can be done virtually, and the transplant staff, she says, joke that her bloodwork results look better than their own.

Traci has gone back to work and is excited to be able to travel again, but she says the experience has taught her to slow down and work on managing her stress levels.

“I have adjusted some things, and I have a different outlook on life in some ways,” she says. She and Adrianne say that one of the best things about the whole experience is the time they got to spend together.

“We were a close family before,” she says. “But this has brought us even closer.”