Thornton Teenager Has 'New Life' After Complicated Double Organ Transplant
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - He had a slim chance of finding a match. A teenager from Thornton, with a rare genetic disorder, needed both a liver and a kidney.
LaShawn Prince is now thriving thanks to doctors at Children's Hospital Colorado who came up with an ingenious strategy.
"Hi, you're looking good," said Dr. Shikha Sundaram, a hepatologist at Children's, as she greeted her longtime patient, LaShawn Prince.
La Shawn got a big hug. The doctors at Children's are family.
"Children's they definitely, basically gave me life," LaShawn told CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.
He was born with a rare genetic disorder called autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) with congenital hepatic fibrosis. It affected both his kidneys and his liver.
The National Organization for Rare Disorders reports approximately 30% of babies with ARPKD will die from severe breathing difficulties during the first four weeks after birth. LaShawn survived, but life wasn't easy.
"I would be in and out of the hospital constantly," he said. "I felt very tired and just not well."
At 11 years old, his organs started failing. At 15, he was running out of time. LaShawn needed a kidney and a liver.
But multiple blood transfusions made finding organs his body wouldn't reject nearly impossible.
"He had antibodies against pretty much 99 to 100% of the population," explained Dr. Margret Bock, nephrologist at Children's
"We had to just take a chance," said Sundaram.
Bock, Sundaram and many others devised a complicated plan. They suppressed LaShawn's immune system and decided to use right-sized organs from a single donor.
On July 16, 2019, with LaShawn on dialysis, surgeons put in the liver.
"Allowed it to essentially act like a sponge and soak up all the circulating antibodies," explained Sundaram.
The next morning, they transplanted the kidney.
"He has essentially a new life now," said Dr. Bock.
LaShawn's case was a first for Children's Colorado.
"I think miracles do happen. They're out there every day," said LaShawn.
"You're one?" asked Kathy.
"Yes, I am one," said LaShawn with a big smile.
The 15 year old is now feeling great. He is in school and thrilled to be a normal teenager. He is thankful for his organ donor and the doctors at Children's for giving him a second chance.
