COTA for Valen Strong

Our Story

Welcome to Valen’s COTA site! Here is a quick summary of Valen’s journey with acute idiopathic liver failure.

In June of 2021, healthy 3.5 year old Valen Krasnov attended a camping trip with his Dad and Grandpa. Upon returning, Valen’s parents noticed Valen’s eyes turning yellow. Immediately, Valen was seen by his pediatrician who urgently transferred Valen to Phoenix Children’s hospital. Two weeks of testing and being admitted, Valen is listed on the National Transplant Waiting list. Within 12 hours, he receives a life saving split liver transplant in July of 2021.

Although life saving, the transplant came with complications concerning the bile duct. The bile duct was not functioning properly. Therefore, Valen needed an external biliary drain. This drains bile externally through a tube that is inserted directly into the liver and attached to an ostomy bag on the outside of Valen’s body. Since then Valen is still facing complications. Despite the complications, due to the gift of life his donor gave him, he has a second chance at life. Valen receives weekly medical labs, routine imaging, and daily medical pulls.

The Krasnov family now raises awareness for liver health by working with organizations like the American Liver Foundation as well as raising awareness for organ donation through social media, blood drives, as well as working with organizations like Donate Life & UNOS. 

100% of all donations to COTA in honor of Valen will go directly to transplant-related expenses. He will have very costly medical bills and prescriptions his whole life. He will have to be on numerous expensive prescriptions to keep his body from rejecting the transplant as well as many appointments, procedures, and imaging needed daily, weekly, and monthly for the rest of his life. Valen even faces the possibility of needing a second transplant within his lifetime. His parents, Zach and Kelsey along with support from family, take time from work to give Valen his daily and weekly medical care and drive Valen to medical appointments weekly at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Thank you so much for all your support, prayers, and thoughts for Valen. 

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.