Three Heart Transplant Recipients to Compete in Iron Man Triathlon

Three transplant athletes will compete in the PPD Beach2Battleship Iron Man relay in November!

NFT patient Brian Barndt received a heart transplant in 2005 and has since received multiple medals at the transplant games. Heart transplant recipient Kyle Garlett will also participate, along with Mark Black, who is a heart and double-lung transplant recipient.

The men hope to use this opportunity as a way to raise awareness about the vital need for organ donors. NFT wishes them the best of luck and we look forward to following them on this journey!

Bethel Park Family Rallies to Raise Money for Kidney Transplant

This article is from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Although she is facing a life-threatening health disorder, Madee Leombruno considers herself blessed.

Mrs. Leombruno, 40, was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy in 2006 after a routine doctor's checkup. The disorder affects how her kidney functions and its ability to get rid of harmful antibodies.

She needs a kidney transplant to save her life.

"You know, I never felt any pain at all," said Mrs. Leombruno, a Sewickley native and former physical therapist's aide. "My doctor referred me to a nephrologist, and I was told that there was a very high level of creatinine in my kidneys. I was in shock."

Creatinine is a substance that is filtered out of the body via the kidney. If it is not, kidney damage can occur.

For a long time, Mrs. Leombruno has taken a large cocktail of drugs geared to bringing the creatinine level in her kidneys down. When that did not work, she began costly dialysis procedures in January.

In the fall, her husband, Tony, of Bethel Park, lost his job. He has since found work as an engineer outside Tampa, Fla., where they both now live.

On Sept. 7, she will be back in the area for a kidney transplant at Allegheny General Hospital. Her sister-in-law, Deidre, 35, will donate a kidney, and other family members are doing whatever it takes to raise the money needed for the surgery.

"I can't tell you how overwhelmed I am with all this help," Mrs. Leombruno said from her home in Brandon, Fla. "I want to say 'thank you,' but I feel that it is not enough."

The first fundraiser this summer will be a car wash Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at Hillcrest Christian Academy at 2500 Bethel Church Road in Bethel Park. No price has been set but donations are welcome.

Other fundraisers are scheduled throughout the summer, Mrs. Leombruno said.

"I just feel so much love from everyone involved," she said.

A kidney transplant can cost up to $250,000, according to Mandy Scherer, director of public relations for the National Foundation for Transplants. Costs of post-transplant medications, which are critical to the patient's survival, can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per month.

Mrs. Leombruno looks forward to having a normal life again.

"Having to go to dialysis three days a week kind of prevents me from having a full-time job," she said. "I cannot wait to be able to work and volunteer again."

Those who would like to make a donation to Mrs. Leombruno's cause can mail a tax-deductible gift to the NFT Florida Kidney Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Write "in honor of Madee Leombruno" in the memo line of the check. Donations also can be made online at www.transplants.org. Click on "Patients We Help" to direct a contribution to Mrs. Leombruno.

For more information, contact Mrs. Leombruno's mother-in-law, Anita Leombruno, at 412-758-9148 or anitaphil@verizon.net.

Cody Sheets Battles Cystic Fibrosis

This article is from NewsOK.com, powered by The Oklahoman.

In elementary school, when all the other children bolted outside for recess, Cody Sheets dutifully reported to the nurse's station. While his classmates were busy with playground games, he was receiving breathing treatment.

Sheets was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 2 years old. He's kept it at bay with medicine and treatment for most of his life, managing to attend school and work at a motorcycle shop after graduating from Mustang High School.

But in April 2009, his health took a turn for the worse. Now 23, Sheets has spent the past year in and out of the hospital — often in the intensive care unit — and the stays sometimes last longer than a month. He needs a double-lung transplant to survive.

For Sheets and his mother, Terrie Morris, that means waiting patiently for a donor and fundraising for the estimated $650,000 cost of the procedure. It's difficult to predict just how long he will have to wait, but it could be anywhere from six months to two years, Morris said.

"It's a scary process,” she said. "There's nothing I want more than my kid to take a breath that doesn't hurt.”

Morris spoke from her son's hospital room in the intensive care unit at OU Medical Center. Sheets was unable to give an interview because he was hooked up to a machine that regulates his breathing and ensures he doesn't get too much carbon dioxide in his lungs.

Morris was hopeful that they would soon move to a regular hospital room, and she remains optimistic about Sheets' transplant prospects.

"We feel, pretty much from his statistics, that he's at the top of his list,” Morris said.

Sheets always has had a positive attitude about his condition, Morris said. He didn't get to have the sleepovers and parties that most children experience, but he tried to live a normal life as much as possible — even though no one would consider 30 to 40 pills and up to eight nebulizer treatments a day normal.

In high school, Sheets didn't even tell most of his friends he had cystic fibrosis for a long time. "Finally, he just went on his MySpace one day and told everything,” Morris said. "He didn't really want all the attention on him. He didn't want to be treated differently.”

Sheets' desire to live as much of a normal life as possible persists. He is a member of a car club, where his beloved Dodge SRT-4 has been dubbed "Black Beauty.” The club has been "a good support group for him,” Morris said. One day at the hospital, 25 club members showed up to visit at one time.

He also has a passion for tattoos, although doctors have told him to put that on hold for the time being, at least until the transplant and probably for a while afterward, too.

"Some people look at art on a wall; he looks at art on (his) body,” Morris said. Pretty much everything Sheets does now is colored by the prospect of a lung transplant — he has to stay within about 30 minutes of the hospital at all times. Venturing outside that radius, such as when Sheets is craving Eischen's fried chicken in Okarche, requires his doctor's permission.

Morris spends her time organizing as many fundraising events as she can. Even after the cost of the transplant, the necessary anti-rejection medicine could cost up to $5,000 a month.

Upcoming fundraising events include a garage sale in Yukon this weekend and a "Day for Cody” in Mustang in August that will feature a car show, motorcycle run and golf tournament.

Having a child with cystic fibrosis hasn't been easy for Morris, but she's quick to credit her faith for helping her wade through the challenges.

"I believe that God has just provided this unknown strength,” she said. "I don't leave the hospital afraid that I won't see him again. We don't panic — we just can't at this point.”

To learn more about Cody, visit NewsOK.com or read his bio on the NFT website.

Largest Mass Kidney Donor Swap Ever

The article below is from CBSNews.com.

(CBS) It's often the case that a person who needs a kidney has a relative or friend who is willing to donate theirs, but the blood types and compatibility factors don't match.

One solution is to orchestrate a paired kidney exchange, in which each person's donor gives his or her kidney to whomever in the group is the best match.

In the biggest kidney donor swap of its kind ever, over the last several weeks at four different Washington, D.C., hospitals, 14 people got new kidneys.

It's a complicated process: each patient got a kidney from a stranger, and in turn almost everyone had a relative or friend donate one. For example, Barbara gave a kidney to Tracye. Tracye's cousin David gave one of his to Vonda, and Vonda's daughter Andrea then gave one of her kidneys to Jason.

Dr. Jimmy Light, director of Transplantation Services at Washington Hospital Center, said, "It's extraordinarily complicated and it takes huge logistics and things. It all hinges on, of course, the willingness of the donors to just try to help somebody. That's where it all begins."

Dr. Keith Melancon, head of the Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Program at Georgetown University Hospital, added that transplants can be dangerous like any other major surgery. However, he said, "It has been a done safe for a long time now and people can do very well after this operation."

Gary Johnson, one of the transplant recipients, said sitting next to his donor was "overwhelming."

"Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith observed, " It's an interesting circle that develops when one person does the right thing and another person does the right thing and another person does the right thing. And there you have this whole crowd of folks in there who have done the right thing and all the healthy people that have benefited as a result of this."


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NFT Patient Chris Townsend Receives Fresh Start

The following article is from GarnerCitizen.com:

(l-r) Cecilia Huffman, Nancy Stone and Chris Townsend

Cecilia Huffman seemed to know long ago that she would be donating one of her kidneys to her brother.

When Chris Townsend received his first kidney transplant in 1995 at the age of 21, doctors advised him that a kidney donated from a sibling would be more likely to last longer and would have a much lower chance of rejection.

At that time, however, Townsend’s two sisters, Cecilia and Billie Jo, and his brother, David, were all of an age or at a stage in life where it was against medical advice to donate; his sisters were entering prime child-bearing years, and David was still an adolescent.

Huffman, who was about 20 years old at the time of her brother’s first transplant, said, “In 1995, preparing for his first transplant, I knew then that one day I more than likely would have to give him a kidney.”

That first kidney lasted Townsend for about 11 years until it failed. An intense search for another kidney ensued. By that time, Huffman was ready.

“I don’t have any doubts, any concerns; I wanted to do it,” she recalled thinking at the time.

The operation was in September 2008. Since then, Huffman has had no regrets about donating her kidney.

“Most days, I don’t even think about it. I’m just glad he is here and healthy. I’d do it all over again.”

Huffman said being an organ donor and saving someone’s life is an amazing opportunity. “I wish more people would look into organ donation and how it benefits others,” she added.

Two years later

“I feel great,” Chris Townsend says as he reflects on his state of health almost two years after his second kidney transplant.

Townsend, now 36, had a degenerative form of kidney disease known as Alport Syndrome. His story was first told in a February 2008 article in The Garner Citizen.

Summarizing his physical limitations since the second transplant, Townsend said he had “none whatsoever.” Though he takes several anti-rejection medicines, also known as immunosuppressants, he said he has not noticed any side effects.

“They have done away with most of the side effects with the better medicines now,” he said.

Looking back on the medical care he received, Townsend is effusive with praise. He describes his nephrologist, Dr. Stephen Smith, at Duke University Medical Center as “the best doctor I have every seen in my life.”

Financial need met

During the process of preparing for a second transplant, Townsend was faced with a great challenge in affording the transplant and the maintenance medications that would follow.

Members of his church, St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Garner, had rallied around him and, through a nonprofit organization, the National Foundation for Transplants, raised enough money to secure the transplant operation; however, funding the lifetime of maintenance medications that would be required remained a challenge.

In the following months, Townsend was able to acquire a medical insurance policy that now pays for a substantial portion of his ongoing medication bills. He does not anticipate a need for future fundraising.

Townsend is beginning anew with a dream he has had for a long time — to start a business of his own. He has always enjoyed baking. Now, he has a bakery business with his mother, Nancy Stone, and Huffman called Nancy Jo’s Homemade Bakery. The business is located in Warsaw and has a local hub at the Farmers Market at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

After his second transplant, Townsend expressed his feeling that this second transplant might last the rest of his life.

Reflecting on the possibility of a lifetime with his sister’s kidney, he said, “It is very possible, and in my gut — no pun intended — I feel like it will last a very long time.”

June Patient of the Month: Mandi Batson

Mandi Batson has been fighting for her life since she was 4 years old. She has endured two heart surgeries and was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) in 2006. The following year, she received a bone marrow transplant to treat the CML but later contracted Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) as a result of the transplant. Bone marrow patients can contract GVHD when the newly transplanted cells attack the recipient's organs. In Mandi's case, the disease attacked and damaged her lungs. Doctors have said a double-lung transplant is critical to her survival.

Throughout every health battle she has faced, Mandi has been a fighter. She is thankful for the dedication of her family, who has been with her every step of the way, and the steadfast support of her church family at Faith Assembly of God. Despite her health challenges, she graduated from high school in the top 10% of her class, is an active member of her church youth group and serves as an ambassador for the Make-A-Wish program. Currently, Mandi is a pre-med college student and hopes to be a doctor to help children overcome their own cancer battles. But she needs your help.

To read more of Mandi's story or to make a donation in her honor, visit her web bio on the NFT website.

NFT Patients Who Had Transplants in May

Congratulations to the NFT patients who received their lifesaving transplants last month!

• Russ Biggs (kidney) at The Christ Hospital


• Donna Kelly Golembiewski (kidney/pancreas) at Florida Hospital Transplant Center


• Toni Latham (liver) at The Liver Institute at Methodist Dallas


• Irv Pifer (lung) at UCSF Medical Center


• Ben Smith (kidney) at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center

We are so happy for these patients who have received a second chance at life! NFT will continue to help them raise funds so they can focus on their health rather than worrying about their finances.

Poker Run is a Success for NFT Patient

NFT patient Richard Calm's volunteers held a very successful poker run last month. During a fun day of motorcycles and poker, supporters raised a total of $4,369! Everyone worked hard and had a great time raising funds for NFT in Richard's honor!