“I have three kidneys,” says Wayne Darrington, a heart, lung and kidney transplant patient from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. “I feel so grateful and blessed to be alive and thriving. I had amyloidosis (a buildup of amyloid proteins in organs), which affects about 50,000 people worldwide. In my case it started attacking my lungs and went to my heart, causing me to have congestive heart failure. Since there was a kidney available from the same donor, they added it to prevent renal failure. I think it’s the first time it’s ever been done. I feel so much better after my transplants. I’m able to walk. Thanks God for the UCLA medical staff and doctors. They are amazing and I couldn’t have been treated any better. You could really feel that they were there for me.”

Tags: amyloidosis, congestive heart failure, featured, heart transplant, kidney transplant, lung transplant, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Surgery, Transplant