ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – Macey Brown, 17, returned to St. Louis Children’s Hospital six weeks after becoming the first child in Missouri to receive a combined heart and kidney transplant.
“I’m living life again,” Brown said.
The procedure is so rare that most hospitals may only see a handful of cases. Brown said she was nervous when told about the surgery’s rarity.
“When I was told that, I was kind of nervous, because I’m like, ‘do y’all know what y’all are doing for real?” Brown said.
Brown has faced heart problems since birth. At 9 weeks old, she had her first heart transplant after being born with only one functional side of her heart. Her second transplant came 17 years later.
In fall of 2025, her first transplanted heart failed. This time, her kidneys were also affected, requiring both a new heart and a new kidney.
“She is on her third heart, and she got one new kidney, so she actually has three kidneys,” said Pam Brown, Macey’s mother.
Dr. Justin Berger, a Washington University pediatric cardiologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said the surgery required coordination between multiple teams.
“This took a huge effort; multiple teams were involved at WashU and St. Louis Children’s, both heart surgeons, kidney surgeons, heart and kidney transplant specialists, our ICU, nurses, and leadership,” Berger said.
Berger said the best approach for this type of surgery was for both organs to come from the same donor.
“The donor and the donor family, they gave truly a selfless gift, without that gift, Macey wouldn’t be back home, back in school, back living her life,” Berger said.
Pam Brown expressed gratitude for the organ donation.
“So generously donated organs so my child could live,” she said. “It truly does matter, and it truly saves lives.”
The surgery has given Brown another chance to experience life like other teenagers. She said she has been able to spend time with friends without getting tired.
“I’ve been able to hang out with all my friends, and I haven’t gotten like super tired,” Brown said. “It makes me want to be a nurse even more because they saved my life and I want to do that for someone else.”
clarification: Macey is the first pediatric recipient of a combined heart-kidney transplant in Missouri. The original version of this story stated that Macey is the combined heart-kidney transplant recipient in Missouri in general.
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