On Death's Bed

On Death's Bed is a side quest given by the herbalist Tomira in White Orchard. You must decide whether to give the witcher potion Swallow to a young peasant women, Lena, who was injured by the griffin of White Orchard.

Quest Description
"Once again Geralt had a near impossible choice to make - a choice between a greater and lesser evil. While preparing to hunt the giffin, he had come across one of the beast's victims - a simple peasant woman named Lena.  She had been on her way to meet her lover when the griffin attacked.  The beast had mortally wounded her.  A witcher's potion could save her life... or cause her to perish in agony."

~Dandelion

Brew a dose of Swallow
If you are playing on one of the two highest difficulties then you should have automatically started with a Swallow potion. Assuming you haven't already used that potion you may give it to Lena. If you have already used the potion or don't have one you will need to brew one which requires you to find the ingredients and then craft it in your inventory. The recipe calls for 1xDwarven Spirit, 1xDrowner Brain, and 5xCelandine. The dwarven spirit can be purchased from the tavern keeper in White Orchard. The drowner brain can be looted from the drops of drowners you kill. Search along the river coast for drowners, especially between White Orchard and the Nilfgaardian Garrison or near the ransacked village. The celandine grows in many of the fields surrounding White Orchard, especially between the village center and the herbalist's house. Once you have the alchemy ingredients simply craft the potion in the alchemy section of your character management menu.

Take the potion to the herbalist
With the potion in your inventory just talk to Tomira and the quest will be complete. You'll receive a handy bit of experience, some coins, venom extract and some alchemy recipes including cursed oil and a book, called of sweat and blood.

Closing Quest Description
"The witcher decided to help Lena. Geralt then left White Orchard before he could learn the results of the risky treatment he applied.  Soon afterwards, while visiting the Nilfgaardian garrison in Velen, he learned the woman had survived.  The imperial infantryman with whom she was to meet the ill-fated evening of the giriffin's attack had brought her to a nearby village.  Sadly, none of this denoted a happy ending.  Though the wounds on Lena's body healed, the toxins in the witcher's brew had melted her mind.  This was not the first time a cure had proven worse than the disease."

~Dandelion

If you leave White Orchard after starting this quest but before completing it, the quest will be marked as FAILED. The alternate ending is described as follows:

"They say witchers do not feel as humans do. That they are stripped of emotion, untroubled by doubts and dilemmas.  This might be true for some of the caste-Lambert possibly being a case in point.  But there is no doubt Geralt was different.  he honestly debated what to do with Lena, considered what would be the lesser evil, and did so for so long that the woman finally succumbed to her wounds."

~Dandelion