C.J. Adams was born with a heart complication in 2012 and underwent his first surgery just two days later. Within months, the little boy needing a pacemaker implanted.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) became a second home as he grew up knowing a heart transplant might be his only option to live.
“It was hard to see other kids do normal things,” C.J. said. “I was getting sicker and sicker as my heart got weaker and weaker.”
In October 2021, C.J. was placed on the heart transplant list as his condition grew worse.
Unsure how long he had to live, C.J. met NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes and toured Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City through the Make-A-Wish program.
Then, on Jan. 30 of this year, a call came that changed everything.
“When I got the call, I began to cry,” C.J. said. “I did not think this day would come. We didn’t know. I didn’t know if God had forgotten about me.”
At 12 years old, C.J. received his “precious gift,” a new heart.
Since the transplant, he said he is “feeling great.”
C.J. no longer needs a nurse to follow him around at school, he wants to play lacrosse, and can once again go to the beach, and swim in the pool.
With a healthy future ahead of him, C.J. said last week that wants to become a heart surgeon, like the one who saved his life at CHOP.
“I wouldn’t be the kid I am today without their love, dedication, and support,” C.J. said of the medical staff.
With his body not rejecting the donor heart, he has made a stuffed bear to present to the family of his donor.
C.J.’s story is one of the roughly 6,000 Pennsylvanians currently on the state’s transplant waiting list.
According to federal data, roughly 13 people in the country die every day waiting for a transplant.
Dr. Manish Gupta, the surgical director of UPMC Central Pennsylvania’s Kidney Transplant Program, said one organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of up to 75 others.
“Only about half of eligible individuals are registered as donors,” Gupta said. “We believe that gap is largely due to a lack of information.”
PennDOT officials said 5 million Pennsylvanians are registered organ donors, roughly half of driver’s license and state ID holders.
The personal impact of organ donation is something Marilyn Michelle Reynolds knows firsthand.
Her father, Arty, died in October 2017 from an asthma-related heart attack.
The family decided to donate his organs and tissue.
Reynolds called the decision a “self-less act” by her father and said her family was comforted knowing her father’s death led to other lives being saved and improved.
She was so moved by the experience that she now works for an organ donation organization in Western Pennsylvania.
“Please, have this conversation with your family,” Reynolds said. “Your choice can bring hope and healing to so many others.”
Becoming an organ donor in Pennsylvania is easy:
- Residents can register when visiting any PennDOT Photo License or Driver License Center.
- Those under 18 must have a parent or guardian’s consent.
- There is no additional fee to add the “Organ Donor” designation to a license or ID.
- Pennsylvanians can also register online — a process that takes less than 90 seconds.
Recent federal and media scrutiny has highlighted issues in the organ donation system.
A federal Health Resources and Services Administration investigation, according to CNN, found problems with donations, including incomplete donations.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Congress are now looking into organ donation processes, mostly in rural and smaller hospitals, where the department said the biggest problems were found.
Gupta said the transplant field has improved significantly since he was a resident.
“Remember, we can make a difference,” he said. “The power of one.”
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