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With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $830,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. In St. Louis, volunteers are raising funds for transplant patients like local baby Zachary Solomon.
Born August 7th, 2006, arriving 3 months early, Zachary Jordan Solomon came into this world weighing 2 lbs 5.5 oz.
At 5 weeks of age he developed a disease called Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) which causes the small bowel to die. On September 11th and 12th he was rushed into emergency surgery during two separate surgeries the surgeons had to removed all but 6 cm of his small bowel (a term infant has approximately 150 cm of small bowel).
With only 6 cm left, Zachary's only chance for long-term survival is a Multi-Visceral (small bowel, liver, and pancreas) transplant.
Currently Zachary is fed over 18 hours through a central line with a mixture called TPN (Total Parental Nutrition). While TPN is amazing and helps him grow, it also causes liver damage.
In November 2006 the family made a trip to Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital for an evaluation to see if Zachary was a suitable candidate for a transplant. After his 5th surgery in 3½ months, the doctors listed him as a status 1 candidate on the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) for a small bowel, liver and pancreas. While they would like him to be 22 lbs for the life-saving multivisceral transplant, they have performed this 12-16 hour operation on infants as small as 6 lbs. Now we wait for organs and grow as big as we can!
This surgery is relatively new and is only performed at 4 centers in the country. Only 40-50 of this type of transplant is done per year nationwide on children and adults combined.
Zachary is now 1 year old and weighing just over 12 lbs, he is a fighter and it is just amazing to see such a sick little boy with such a will to live. He is loved by many and we hope that you will bring him into your heart.
How to Donate
- In person at any Bank of America branch C/O COTA for Zachary S.
- Mailed to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 COTA Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, 47403. Checks or money orders should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Zachary Solomon” written on the memo line of the check.
- Secure credit card donations are accepted online from the Donations tab or at www.cota.org.