Chicago woman Jasmine Jones underwent a rare quadruple organ transplant at UChicago Medicine.
Doctors transplanted both lungs, a liver, and a kidney during a 36-hour surgery.
Jones is believed to be only the sixth person in U.S. history to receive this transplant combination.
Complications from cystic fibrosis caused severe multi-organ failure requiring simultaneous transplantation.
Doctors said the operation highlights both advances in transplant medicine and the ongoing need for organ donors.
The 36-hour procedure at the University of Chicago Medicine involved transplantation of both lungs, a liver, and a kidney.
A Chicago woman is recovering after undergoing one of the rarest and most complex transplant procedures performed in the United States.
Jasmine Jones, 28, of Chicago’s Calumet Heights neighborhood, received a quadruple organ transplant at the University of Chicago Medicine after years of complications caused by cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that can progressively damage the lungs and other organs. During a 36-hour surgery spanning two days in January 2026, doctors transplanted both lungs, a liver, and a kidney.
Jones is believed to be the first patient in Illinois to successfully receive this specific four-organ transplant combination. Media reports stated that she may be only the sixth person in U.S. history to undergo the procedure successfully.
Jones, who has lived with cystic fibrosis since childhood, later developed cystic fibrosis-related diabetes while in college. Over the past year, she began experiencing worsening liver and kidney failure, severe swelling, pain, fatigue, and declining lung function. She later revealed that her kidneys were functioning at only 10 percent before the surgery. Doctors monitored Jones closely for months as her condition deteriorated while she awaited compatible donor organs. Jones also told local media that she slipped into a coma for two days during her health decline last year.
According to UChicago Medicine, doctors determined that replacing only one or two organs would not be sufficient because her diseased lungs could threaten the function of newly transplanted organs. Her lungs also contained drug-resistant bacteria that physicians feared could spread infection to newly transplanted organs if all affected organs were not replaced together. Dr. Pablo Sanchez, surgical director of the UChicago Medicine Lung Transplant Program, stated that performing all the transplants together offered the best chance for her long-term survival.
The transplant procedure required months of planning and coordination between multiple surgical and critical care teams before compatible donor organs became available in January. UChicago Medicine surgeons also delayed the kidney transplant until the following day to reduce stress on Jones’ body after the lengthy lung and liver procedures.
Dr. Sanchez performed the double-lung transplant, while Dr. Rolf Barth, co-director of the UChicago Medicine Transplant Institute, carried out the liver and kidney transplants as part of the multidisciplinary surgical effort.
In interviews following the surgery, Jones said she feared she “was going to die on the table.” She also expressed gratitude toward her organ donor and the donor’s family, saying there were “no words” to describe her appreciation.
Transplants involving four organs are performed only in exceptional circumstances because they require compatible donor organs, highly specialized surgical teams, and careful coordination throughout the procedure.
Doctors said keeping a patient stable during such a lengthy operation presents major medical challenges. The availability of suitable donor organs at the same time also remains extremely uncommon. Multi-organ transplants require donor organs that are biologically compatible and viable within a narrow surgical timeframe, making such procedures exceptionally difficult to coordinate.
Hospital officials stated that only a small number of quadruple organ transplants and multi-organ transplant procedures have been successfully performed in the United States. Media reports citing the United Network for Organ Sharing stated that Jones’ operation was the first of its kind in Illinois. More than 100,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for organ transplants, according to federal transplant data.
Jasmine Jones’ case highlights how cystic fibrosis can gradually affect organs beyond the lungs.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system, damaging organs over time. The disease can eventually affect the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Long-term complications, repeated infections, diabetes, and medication-related damage can also contribute to kidney dysfunction in some cystic fibrosis patients. Over time, the progression of cystic fibrosis and related complications caused multiple organs to fail simultaneously, ultimately making a four-organ transplant necessary.
Although newer treatments have improved survival rates for many patients with the disease, some individuals still develop severe complications requiring transplantation. Advances in CFTR modulator therapies have improved life expectancy for many cystic fibrosis patients in recent years, though severe organ damage can still occur in advanced cases.
Jasmine Jones spent several weeks recovering in the hospital and later began rehabilitation therapy three times a week following the transplant surgery.
Patients undergoing multi-organ transplants, including complex lung liver kidney transplant procedures, require long-term monitoring for infection, organ rejection, and complications linked to immunosuppressive medications.
Doctors involved in Jones’ treatment described the surgery as a major milestone in transplant medicine. Dr. Sanchez later said Jones appeared to have “a different glow” after the surgery, reflecting the dramatic improvement in her condition.
Jones also described adapting to breathing normally again after the operation, saying the experience felt unfamiliar because of how long she had struggled with lung disease. She said the transplant gave her a renewed sense of independence and hope for the future, including returning to work as a daycare assistant.
(Rh/TP/MSM)
