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Elizabeth City teen needs contributions for life-saving transplant

Posted at 11:35 AM, May 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-18 06:57:48-04

Kelvin Brown Jr. will be receiving the transplant at Duke University Medical Center. Photo provided by Kesha Williams.

ELIZABETH CITY, Va. – 17-year-old Kelvin Brown Jr. of Elizabeth City is in need of a transplant after being diagnosed with Sickle Cell – Beta Thalissemia, and The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is collecting funds to help him.

Brown and his family were told by Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, that a stem cell transplant would be needed for him to live, according to COTA. Currently, Brown and his parents are in Durham for the pre-surgery.

Elizabeth City community members, COTA organization volunteers and others, have been working to raise $50,000 of Brown’s expected medical bills from the transplant procedure.

Brown’s family has asked for the assistance of COTA, which works to help transplant families avoid financial devastation. With transplant procedures costing in the hundreds of thousands at times, the organization looks to bridge the financial gap so that children, teens and young adults do not get excluded from a much needed transplants.

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 Team Kelvin B” written on the memo line. Secure credit card gifts are accepted online here.

Additional volunteers are needed for this COTA community campaign. Individuals and groups interested in more information should contact Community Coordinator Karen McPherson at 252.505.9831 or klbstrong2018@gmail.com.