It will be another three to four weeks before doctors attempt a sixth liver transplant on a Kilkenny woman, Lizzie O'Farrell.
The 25-year-old waits patiently in her room at the King's College Hospital, London, hoping for one more chance of life.
For seven weeks she has hung on to the dream that she will return to her native city to live some kind of a normal life with her husband, Keith. On the surface, she is calm and confident, hoping a donor organ will be found.
A former national Person of the Year award winner, she has been a shining light for those around her. When hopes have flagged, she revived them with her sense of humour and disarming smile.
Doctors at the hospital paint a different picture. Lizzie does not talk about it, but a strong cocktail of drugs keeps her alive. Her medical condition must remain stable if doctors are to attempt another transplant.
The steroids used to keep her body ticking over could damage her organs, and so the hospital medical team are walking a tight rope.
A spokesman for the hospital confirmed it will be three weeks before she will be ready to receive a new liver.
Doctors have decided to carry out a bone marrow transplant four weeks after the liver transplant to make sure the body does not reject the next organ.
Her brothers, P.J., Seamus and Philip, and sister, Maria, will find out in three weeks if their bone marrow is a match for Lizzie's. "I know we need a lot of luck, but we have to keep trying for Lizzie's sake," her sister said.
"She has never given up on us, and we certainly will not be giving up on her.
"We are under no illusions. We know that this is Lizzie's last chance and we are just praying to God that she will come through this whole thing," she said.
Lizzie had her fifth transplant in March 2000. Last September she did the one thing in the world that she always wanted, she married Keith.
Lizzie admitted that her love for Keith and her wish to live a normal married life with him kept her going through the blackest of days. "I want live a proper life with Keith and maybe, some time in the future, we might have a baby," she said.
There is a heavy financial burden on Lizzie, Keith and both their families. "We are appealing for help for Lizzie. She needs to have her family by her side," Maria added.
A trust fund has been set up for Lizzie and donations can be sent to account no 19436242, sort code 90-60-64 at Bank of Ireland, The Parade, Kilkenny.