The Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State has performed five life-saving double lung transplants in patients recovered from COVID-19 since Dec. 12. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
In his early twenties, Borden had testicular cancer. Six months later, he developed a rare blood clotting disorder in his heart and lungs that made breathing difficult.
In mid-November of 2020, after several months of living in a bubble, the 40-year-old Enon, Ohio, resident tested positive for COVID-19. He said he thinks he contracted the virus at the gas station while dropping his sons off at their mother’s house — one of the few ventures out of the house due to his pulmonary hypertension and heart failure.
Borden developed a serious case that left him with failing lungs and requiring a near-constant supply of oxygen. What would have been fatal complications, however, were ultimately treatable — Borden was the first recovered COVID-19 patient to receive a double lung transplant at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State Dec. 12, 2020.
Dr. Asvin Ganapathi, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the medical center who specializes in end-stage heart and lung failure, said four more double lung transplants have been performed in recovered COVID-19 patients since December, in patients ranging from ages 30 to 70 who developed complications from the virus.
Ganapathi said the number of patients in need of a double lung transplant from COVID-19 has risen and he expects it to increase more in the future. He said not all the recipients had preexisting health conditions prior to the transplants.
“In one case, the patient was totally healthy before COVID and then, after getting COVID, had, basically, significant respiratory problems — not requiring a ventilator, but he could barely walk without a significant amount of oxygen,” Ganapathi said.
To require a transplant, a patient’s lungs must be irreversibly damaged, Ganapathi said. However, COVID-19 cannot have inflicted so much damage to the patient’s body that they would be unable to recover from the intensive surgery.
The medical center plans to perform more double lung transplants as the need arises, Ganapathi said.
Borden was released from the intensive care unit Jan. 18 to begin rehabilitation and went home March 18.
Now, he spends his time playing basketball with his sons and cuddling with his cat. He only uses supplementary oxygen in the form of a sleep mask — a stark contrast to five months ago, he said.
He said his survival wouldn’t have been possible if there weren’t any lungs that matched with him.
“Organ donation is simple enough to do; you just fill it out when you get your driver’s license or renew your license,” Borden said. “And even if you lose your life, you still live on in another individual, because you helped give them a second chance.”
