Why COTA for Iain?

Lately, several people have been asking “Why don’t you use something easier like GoFundMe?” or “Why can’t I hand over cash?” or “What are these donations for?”

We sincerely hope the following will provide a clear explanation as to why we chose to partner with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) for several reasons. When you make a donation to COTA in honor of Iain, you can be confident that:

1.100% of your donation goes to transplant related expenses (COTA does not keep a percentage).
2. Funds donated to COTA are a tax deduction for you.
3. Iain’s family does not get stuck paying taxes on the money you donate in his honor.
4. Funds raised do not ever expire and may be used during Iain’s entire lifetime.

In addition, I would like to convey that we set up this fund as many of the Hess family/friends support group had said they wanted to do something for Iain that would make a difference to his life.  

As many of you know costs related to transplants are excessive and these costs do not go away when Iain finally leaves the hospital.  The Hess family would like Iain to be able to use the monies in the fund for expenses related to Iain’s transplant as he ages out of their health insurance policy.  For the rest of his life Iain will require a huge amount of medications, treatments and follow up care to keep him and his lungs healthy.  In addition, the family will have to make routine visits to St Louis for pre-transplant check-ups, these expenses include airfare, transportation within the city, lodging, etc for the family as well as the medical bills/co-pays incurred during these visits.  None of these expenses are covered by insurance.

I hope this gives you a little insight into the daily costs of the Lung Transplant World.