Woman Donates Liver to Her Mom During Mother's Day Weekend

Heidy Lima gave her mother, Iris Blanco, the ultimate Mother's Day gift -- the gift of life.

"She was the one that gave me life and now I can say I gave a little back,” Lima said.

She gave her mother, Iris Blanco, a part of her liver for a transplant after she became seriously ill.

Blanco is 60 years old and was placed on the transplant list.

"It took about two or three years to get her on the list," Lima said.

Doctors say Blanco was not a priority on the list and would take her months find a liver donor.

Lima was convinced there was another way to get her mom a transplant. She then found the Cleveland Clinic Living Donor Program.

"We are providing the community another new option in order to get a liver transplant for somebody that needs a transplant but is not as sick to get to priority," said Dr. Antonio Pinna, who is the director of Cleveland Clinic Weston’s Abdominal Transplant.

On Mother's Day Weekend, Blanco successfully went under liver transplant surgery after doctors removed a piece of her daughter's liver.

Doctors say Lima is Cleveland Clinic's first living donor for a liver transplant.

“People can recognize and see that it's available to be able to do it in Florida and hopefully they’ll take the same step that I did," Lima said.