A groundbreaking series of heart surgeries involving an innovative organ donation process at Duke Children’s Hospital has saved the lives of three young girls! After suffering a sudden heart failure, 11-year-old Journi Kelly received a life-saving heart transplant. At the same time, doctors used her heart’s valves to help two other girls, 14-year-old Margaret Van Bruggen and nine-year-old Kensley Frizzell, who both needed critical heart valve replacements due to separate medical conditions.
The procedures were performed by Dr. Joseph Turek and Dr. Douglas Overbey, who saw an opportunity to conduct the first-ever living mitral valve transplant, giving Margaret a functioning valve that could grow with her. Kensley, who had undergone previous heart surgeries since infancy, also received a new aortic valve using a specialized procedure that replaced her failing valve with one of Journi’s. These transplants could pave the way for better treatments for children with similar heart conditions in the future.
Margaret and Kensley have already returned to school and are excited to get back to their favorite activities, like cross-country running and dirt biking. Journi, who’s still in recovery, is looking forward to shopping and taking a vacation once she fully heals. Their families expressed deep gratitude for the successful transplants, and Margaret wrote to Journi that she would never forget her because "she's literally inside of me."