Local child in need of life-saving transplant

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – One Bowling Green family is asking for your help to secure a life-saving organ transplant for their two-year-old son.

Maverick is the son of Chelsea and Derek Pierce. Born in 2019, Maverick was diagnosed with Glycogen Storage Disease Type 4. The transplant team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, recommends a life-saving heart and liver transplant, according to a release by the Children’s Organ Transplant Association.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association is a national 501(c)3 charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses. In Bowling Green, volunteers are raising funds for COTA in honor of transplant patients like local toddler, Maverick Pierce.

Bowling Green volunteers are raising $50,000 for COTA to assist with expenses relating to the transplant.

The release further states volunteers are currently needed for this campaign. Individuals and groups interested in more information should contact community coordinator Brittney Green at brittney.green@wku.edu or 270-779-8322.

Media representatives should contact the public relations coordinator Denise Cole at denisecole0521@gmail.com or 210-991-5839 for more information about the family or the COTA community fundraising effort.

COTA stated they help 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 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 stated they help to bridge the financial gap.

COTA stated Maverick’s family has asked for their assistance. All funds raised for COTA in honor of patients assist with transplant-related expenses, stated the released.

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 Mavericks Journey” written on the memo line. Secure credit card gifts are accepted online at cota.org/campaigns/COTAforMavericksJourney.