Marquis was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and received a heart transplant in 2005 when he was just 3 years old. After his transplant, he battled severe rejection and required the assistance of a temporary ventricular assist device. He recovered from this rejection but now is battling the failure of his kidneys. He is requiring another heart transplant due to dysfunction and mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation. He is also requiring a kidney transplant for chronic kidney disease, stage 4. Since his initial heart transplant, Marquis and his mother have been required to travel to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for close follow-up with his physicians. These appointments can sometimes be multiple times each week, causing his mother to miss a significant amount of work. Also, because of the complications with heart transplant, Marquis has been hospitalized multiple times while his cardiology team monitors his heart closely, making sure that he is not in rejection. Currently waiting for a kidney and heart transplant through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) 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.