Lexington, Ky. (5 May 2025) – A strong collaboration between British healthcare Gill Heart & Vascular Institute and Norton Heart & Vascular Institute gave him a second chance when Louisville's Delara Porter faced a life-threatening heart and kidney failure.
“It's not now,” Delara said. “You can make a plan.”
That sense of hope is something that Delara and his wife Donna have always had. Just a few years ago, his health was declining rapidly. After a long motorcycle trip, his legs began in 2019 with swelling.
“We had been there for three weeks and thought we were tired of the trip,” Delara said. But when he returned to his job as a driver for the UPS, he drove off more exhausted than ever.
The stress tests ordered by his primary care provider in Louisville revealed that something was very wrong. He was so tired that he couldn't finish the test. Still, Delara wasn't worried. He hoped to get test results and hear a response from his doctor in the next few days.
Instead, he was admitted to the hospital that day. Delara was treated for both heart and kidney failure at the hospital the following month.
But the news has gotten worse. The damage to his heart was too serious, and a transplant was his only option.
The echocardiogram showed the cause of his heart failure. The walls of the heart muscle were very thick, which led to inefficient pumping and blood circulation. Further testing reveals the rare and complex underlying causes of his organ failure – hereditary transcyretin amyloidosis is a genetic disorder that accumulates in the abnormal protein produced by the liver, especially the heart. The condition progresses slowly and is often not diagnosed until the damage is severe.
The accumulation of these proteins in his heart was so slow that even though Delara was born with amyloidosis, he didn't begin to feel the effects until his mid-50s. By the time he was diagnosed, there was no choice but to replace his heart and kidneys.
“I was very scared of him,” Donna said. “But I knew I couldn't show it. I didn't know if he was trying to make it. I sat in bed at night and looked at him to make sure the cover was moving.”
Kerry McCantz, Maryland, cardiologist at Norton Healthcare, introduced him to UK Healthcare in early 2022. Through the Gill Affiliate Network, Norton Healthcare and UK Healthcare are working to connect patients like Delara to experts, collaborate for further evaluations, and try to bring care as close to home as possible. At the UK Healthcare Transplant Centre, Delara was evaluated for both heart and kidney transplants.
However, there were still other complications. Pre-transplant assessment revealed a health problem known as smoldering myeloma. This is a precancerous condition in which the plasma cells in the bone marrow divide too quickly and produce abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can cause multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of plasma cells.
The complications were a serious problem. A cancer diagnosis may allow Delara to automatically qualify for organ transplants. Organ transplants require patients to take immunosuppressive medications to prevent organ rejection. If cancer, or a precancer, is present, this could actually start the condition into full-fledged cancer.
The UK team of advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologists was not ready to give up on Delara. A group of cardiologists, oncologists, nephrologists and surgeons from across the healthcare company gathered to discuss the case of Delara. Aside from smoldering myeloma, Delara was an ideal transplant candidate. He didn't drink or smoke or get overweight. He had a common blood type, and most importantly, Delara had a large, supportive family with Donna. Certainly there was something they could do for him.
The interdisciplinary team determined that the risk of cancer progression was very low and would not affect Delara's long-term outcome. This approach allowed the team to advance the implantation and overcome what was previously considered a barrier to care.
On December 18, 2022, Delara received a new heart. The next day he received his kidneys from the same donor. This is a double transplant that saved his life.
In the days after the implantation, Delara felt better than he had for years.
“They asked me if I wanted to listen to my heart,” he said. “It was pounding like anyone's business. It was a good defeat.”
What do you think about having someone else's organ in his body?
“I'm not thinking about that,” he said. “Everyone who gave it to me wanted to help someone else. It gave me a second chance, so I appreciate it. They wanted to help.”
A week later, Delara was released from hospital, and he and Donna rang out at home for the New Year.
“It feels good, it feels good,” he said. “That's a blessing.”
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More than two years after the transplant, Delara is thriving. His care seamlessly transitioned from Norton Specialists in Louisville to the advanced transplant team at British Healthcare in Lexington, returning to Norton again for post-transplant care. Together, this statewide partnership has enabled Delara to not only receive a rare double organ transplant, but also continue to recover from her Louisville home. This is a true testament to the life-changing impact of coordinated care.
He and Donna are deeply grateful to donors who wanted Delara to give him a second chance and hope that others would understand the life-changing power of organ donation. To their families, it meant more time together.
“The donation of organs has brought us back to our lives,” Donna said. “Dellara is the heart of our family, and we still have him because of someone's generosity.”
Delara is now spending time with his children and grandchildren, sharing meals with his family, and planning a motorcycle trip again.
“This is my second chance,” he said. “And I haven't wasted it for a minute.”
