Three time’s a charm for Los Angeles man — learn how this remarkable care came together

Heart surgeon Tyler Gunn, MD, director of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Program at Cedars-Sinai sits on the bed of patient Valance Sams Sr., who received a heart, liver and kidney transplant during a 20-hour surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

At the heart of medicine is teamwork, and few procedures exemplify that value quite like a multi-organ transplant. It requires coordination from a long list of health care professionals, including staff who ensure the donated organs are identified, safely procured and ready for operating – all well before any incisions are made. 

Last spring, staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles performed a triple organ transplant on Valance Sams Sr., whose sarcoidosis left him hospitalized for two months and in need of a new heart, liver and kidney. After a successful 20-hour surgery, Sams became the 46th person in the U.S. to receive a heart, liver and kidney transplant since the United Network for Organ Sharing started tracking in 1987.

Read more about Sams’ experience and hear from his surgeons directly on Cedars-Sinai’s website.