Tonawanda man to become first living heart donor in US in 8 years

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — 38-year-old Patrick McDonald has battled asthma throughout his life. In 2020, he battled COVID-19. Two years later, after multiple bouts of pneumonia, he needed emergency surgery to remove two-thirds of his right lung.

He's currently waiting for a double lung and heart transplant. Despite all of that, Patrick has signed up to donate his own heart to a person in need.

“My bronchial tubes and my lungs are just 100 percent scar tissue and scar tissue does not heal," Patrick said. "So, this is as good as it's going to get without a transplant."

Patrick has been on supplementary oxygen since 2023. He works with his pulmonologist anytime he feels sick and takes medicine to avoid more cases of pneumonia. 

However, he's a father of eight, which makes avoiding germs difficult.

“In January of this year, RSV was rampant, and my five-year-old in kindergarten, she brought it home," Patrick said. "I got it and woke up the one morning and I just couldn't breathe at all."

Patrick was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator.

“It was tough seeing him in the hospital when he was on a vent because my dad died that way,” said Shawn McDonald, Patrick's father.

After waking up two weeks later from an emergency lobectomy that removed two thirds of his right lung, Patrick weighed only 112 pounds.

“I couldn't lift my legs. I couldn't pivot my feet up," he said. "So, I had to learn how to walk again."

Disaster struck again in March when Patrick's lung collapsed, which is when his doctors suggested a lung transplant was needed. In April, they referred him to New York University's transplant clinic in Manhattan. 

The day before he was scheduled to arrive, his lung collapsed again.

“So when this is all said and done, I'll have 14 chest tube scars,” Patrick said.

Patrick was then approved for a double lung transplant, along with a heart transplant -- a safer option after the various operations he already went through.

“Everything healed, but it healed kind of wacky because you have a negative space in your chest cavity -- just less things to disconnect and reconnect," Patrick said. "But my heart's healthy, my heart's fine."

Because of his healthy heart, doctors told Patrick it would be able to save someone else, making him a living heart donor.

“Without skipping a beat, I was like, absolutely like, who wouldn't? Every little boy's dream is to be a superhero and save somebody's life," he said. "So, like, if someone has to pass away to save my life, and in turn, I can, you know, repay the favor to the universe, why not?”

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (USCO), he will be the first living heart donor at NYU, the first in the U.S. in eight years, and the 44th since 1988.

“To see him go through it and think of others above himself really touches us,” Shawn said.

A recipient for Patrick's heart has already been found.

Patrick is at home on oxygen and a drain that removes excess air and fluid from his chest while he waits for the call that a donor has been found for his new lungs and heart.

The USCO said the average life expectancy after a procedure like this is 15 years.

“It would be terrible to leave my kids without their dad, but I'd rather have them have a good memory of the last 10 to 15 years with dad," Patrick said. "I don't want this to be how they remember me."

A GoFundMe was set up for Patrick along with a community benefit, which will be held on Aug. 4 at the Eldredge Club in the City of Tonawanda. The Facebook event page can be found here.