With the cost of a life-changing transplant often exceeding $800,000, most transplant families are unable to shoulder that financial burden. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national 501(c)3 charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses. In Winnebago and Pecatonica, volunteers are raising funds for COTA in honor of transplant patients like a local teenager, Jaylen Noud.

Jaylen is the son of Nancy and Jeffrey Noud. Born in 2005, Jaylen was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. The transplant team at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, recommends a life-saving islet cell transplant. Winnebago and Pecatonica volunteers are raising $40,000 for COTA to assist with transplant-related expenses.

According to Jaylen’s story written by his parents on the Children’s Organ Transplant Association website, “Jaylen is a spunky 15-year-old high school freshman. He is an honor roll student who loves to play sports and hang out with his friends. In 2012, when Jaylen was around 6 years old around 3 o’clock in the morning he was curled up in a ball on the couch writhing in pain. We rushed to the ER not knowing what else to do; this was not your normal belly ache!

After a long wait in the ER waiting room, and a couple of x-rays on his stomach, we were told he was probably constipated and sent home. Fast forward to the summer of 2014. Jaylen was going into the second grade and just getting ready to go to his first night of football camp when- The same thing… Doubled over in pain on our living room floor screaming for I cannot tell you how long. We again rushed him to the hospital where after sitting in the ER waiting room for what seems like forever, he was finally brought back for evaluation. By this time, he was completely lethargic, like his body was done. He was limp, pale, and jaundice. Fortunately, this time (probably because his mom was not leaving without answers) the doctors did a blood draw and once they saw his amylase and lipase counts were through the roof, they admitted him right away. PANCREATITIS!”

Volunteers are needed for this COTA community campaign. Individuals and groups interested in more information should contact Community Coordinator Bekki Neal at 815.275.4840 or bekki.neal@gmail.com. Media representatives should contact the Public Relations Coordinator Karli Smith at 815.985.4129 or ksmith1229@gmail.com for more information about the family or the COTA community fundraising effort.

COTA helps transplant families avoid financial devastation. Transplant procedure costs range from $100,000 to more than $800,000. Once the transplant is complete, families face significant transplant-related expenses, including medication; transportation to and from the transplant center; lodging; and expenses while parents are out of work and often living with the hospitalized child far from home. These out-of-pocket expenses add up to tens of thousands of dollars annually for transplant families with lifetime totals often exceeding $1,000,000. In cases where a shortfall exists, COTA helps bridge the financial gap.

Jaylen’s family has asked for assistance from the Children’s Organ Transplant Association. One hundred percent of all funds raised for COTA in honor of patients assist with transplant-related expenses.

Contributions may be sent to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, 47403. Checks should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Jaylen’s Battle” written on the memo line. Secure credit card gifts are accepted online at www.COTAforJaylensBattle.com.

 

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