Also known as: Throat cancer
Max's throat cancer treatment planning drives his personal arc throughout the episode. He must undergo molar extraction before radiation therapy can begin, which he initially delays due to the domino transplant but eventually commits to by episode's end.
Also known as: Liver cancer
Aminah is the anchor patient in the domino liver transplant chain. Her difficult-to-match HLA factors make her the lynchpin of the entire six-patient transplant sequence, and the chain nearly collapses when her original donor backs out.
Also known as: Liver scarring
Five additional patients require partial liver transplants as part of the domino chain. Each patient's family member donates to a different recipient in the chain, creating an interdependent system where all surgeries must proceed together or not at all.
Also known as: IPF
12-year-old undocumented patient presenting with severe progressive lung scarring requiring lung transplant. Her condition becomes critical mid-episode when her heart begins failing due to inability to pump blood through scarred lungs. Her case becomes interwoven with the liver transplant chain when her father offers to donate his liver in exchange for finding a lung donor for his daughter.
Also known as: Heart failure
Gianna develops acute right heart failure secondary to her pulmonary fibrosis. The scarred lungs create such high resistance that her heart cannot effectively pump blood through them, requiring emergency placement of an aortic balloon pump and initially making her too unstable for transplant surgery.
Also known as: Anger control issues
Foster child Jemma has an impulsive aggression episode just as her foster home placement is being finalized, screening and throwing things. Dr. Frome helps her understand that her outburst stems from fear of attachment and abandonment rather than true aggression.