With the cost of a life-saving organ transplant often exceeding $800,000, many families face overwhelming financial challenges. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, helps ease that burden by guiding communities in fundraising efforts to assist transplant families with related expenses.
In Petersburg, volunteers are raising funds for COTA in honor of local toddler Wrenley Lantaff. Wrenley, the daughter of Kayde and Denver Lantaff, was born in 2024 and later diagnosed with Rajab Interstitial Lung Disease. Her medical team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, has recommended a life-saving liver transplant.
Local volunteers have launched a community campaign with a fundraising goal of $60,000 to assist with transplant-related expenses through COTA. Organizers say volunteers are still needed to help support the campaign.
COTA works to prevent transplant families from experiencing financial devastation. While transplant procedures can range from $100,000 to more than $800,000, families also face ongoing out-of-pocket costs such as anti-rejection medications, transportation to and from transplant centers, lodging, and lost income while caring for a hospitalized child. Over a lifetime, transplant-related expenses can exceed $1 million, and COTA helps bridge those financial gaps when needed.
Wrenley’s family has requested assistance from COTA, and 100 percent of funds raised in her honor will go directly toward transplant-related expenses.
Those interested in volunteering can contact Campaign Coordinator Lana Browder at laneb1982@gmail.com or 270-570-4681. Media inquiries may be directed to Outreach Coordinator Kylee Faulk at faulkkylee@outlook.com or 812-354-4643.
Contributions may be mailed to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, 47403. Checks should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Wrenley’s Fight”
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