Jens was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1984, at the age of 1. Jens’s health, due to Cystic Fibrosis, had been declining leading up to his transplant. Prior to his transplant in 2014, he spent over 4 hours a day doing breathing treatments, in addition to being hooked up to IV antibiotics for over 12 hours a day. His lung function was around 16%. At that point, he experienced his quality of life decline in such a way that he decided that it was time to pursue undergoing a double-lung transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

On May 18, 2014, Jens received a double-lung transplant. He spent a year recovering in Pittsburgh, PA before moving to Durham, NC, where he currently resides.

We hope that you will follow Jens’s amazing journey with us. Stay tuned to the Lungs 4 Jens Facebook page and Twitter for more updates!

We are grateful to partner with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), and organization that helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.