Sanford Girl gets new lungs as organ donations, transplants are increasing in Maine

Emily King has the days and weeks when she can go back to school and play basketball and football. Join the Cheerleading team. Learn to swim under water.

The 8 -year -old man of Sanford hopes to be able to do all these things this spring.

For the moment, her family must retain her because she is immunocompromised after obtaining her second double pulmonary transplantation in July. She was 2 years old and seriously ill when she obtained it first.

But Emily and her family feel lucky to have another chance of living.

“She feels like her now,” said her mother, Stéphanie. “She wants to do all things. She doesn’t let her keep it down much. But still, you live every day asking yourself if we will lose it. It is not for the low hearts.

Organ transplants of all types have increased in Maine and across the country, according to statistics provided by the Donor Services of New England.

In Maine, the number of transplant beneficiaries increased from 66 in 2019 to 124 in 2024 – 88% in five years – the biggest jump occurring in the past two years.

The number of mainers who donated organs increased from 42 in 2019 to 78 in 2024.

The increase in Maine is similar to all of New England. The figures are also up nationally, but not as radically. In the United States, organ donations rose from around 39,000 in 2019 to more than 48,000 in 2024, an increase of 23%.

“Many factors meet both to be responsible for this incredible growth,” said Alex Glazier, president and chief executive officer of New England Donor Services. “More people say” yes “to organ donation, and more organs are recoverable.”

Glazier said they had learned that if health professionals related to the organ donor system spoke to families of organ donation earlier in the family member’s death process, families are more likely to accept the gift.

In addition, technology has improved, so the organs are in better condition and more likely to be eligible for donation when the deceased, said Glazier.

“It was before when we recover from the donor’s body, the organ went to the ice,” said Glazier. “Now he’s going to a device to keep the viable organ longer.”

However, the wait can be difficult and emotional, because the family of the recipient knows that someone else had to die – another child, in the case of Emily – for a transplant to be available.

And the need still exceeds the number of donors. About 100,000 people appear on national waiting lists.

But, with two pulmonary transplants, one in 2019 and the last played on July 17 – both in the children’s hospital in Boston – Emily King adopts her new luck to life.

Its new lungs could keep it alive for a few years, a decade or perhaps even 30 years or more. No one knows, said Stephanie King.

The whole family had to learn to live with uncertainty.

We do not know how long we have or do not have, “said Emily’s father Justin King. “We cannot ignore it, but we don’t spend our time thinking about it.”

While waiting for her first transplant in 2019, Emily was only days or weeks of the death of interstitial pulmonary disease, which causes inflammation and scars of pulmonary tissue.

“We were quite desperate. I remember thinking that I may not have a girl on Mother’s Day. We planned his funeral, ”said Stephanie King. “But then we received the call. She was a match. At that time, the only feeling was that of hope. »»

The Kings waited seven months for the second Emily transplant after the lungs of his first transplant began to fail.

Justin King said that the family felt “very lucky and lucky and blessed to have a second chance”.

“Waiting for the second transplant was quite tough, and I was ready to wait even longer,” said Justin King. “We were very lucky to get a second transplant.”

Stephanie King said that at the beginning, there were no symptoms to indicate that Emily’s lungs failed, but the monitors showed her “losing pulmonary operation very quickly” in October 2023.

“She was often breathless, calm and tired. She was sleeping a ton during the day, “said Stephanie.

It made it difficult to frequent school, even practically.

“It was really frightening and rocky for a while,” said Justin King. “Right now, we are in a very good place. It feels good.

Emily still has to take 13 drugs every day, but she has a lot of energy.

“There are a lot of feelings and emotions that she treats you never see,” said Justin. “She manages everything in stride and keeps a super positive attitude.”

The Kings have connected to the New Jersey family of the pulmonary donor, a child who died in 2019, and have been in contact over the years. The New Jersey family refused an interview.

Emily, on the other hand, focuses on returning to school and the sight of her friends.

“They are so nice, they warm my heart,” she said.

Her brothers, Parker, 13, and Chase, 11, are a good company in the meantime, she said, although they also have typical brother relationships.

“I love them, but they are really boring,” said Emily, whispering and laughing.

Emily is also close to many doctors, nurses and other health professionals who have taken care of it over the years. She plays pranks on her doctors and nurses, but also wants to restore and help others, like making key channels for sale during fundraising to support organ donation.

She had had a lot of complications since her second operation, but now feels healthy and ready to face the world, said her parents.

“It’s incredible what an 8 -year -old child can inspire other people,” said Stephanie King.

This story was updated at 10:35 am on Saturday, February 1, to correct the spelling named Alex Glazier.

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