Fayette County man is 500th heart transplant recipient at AGH
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Keith Lowry, center, of Dunbar, received the 500th heart transplant at Allegheny General Hospital in January. His wife, Tammy Lowry, left, and Tammy’s aunt, Ruth Baker, both are living organ donors. The three appeared at the AGH National Donate Life Month kick-off held Monday.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Heart transplant recipient Keith Lowry, center, is surrounded by family members at Allegheny General Hospital’s National Donate Life Month kick-off, held Monday at the hospital. From left are Ed Collins, Robin Collins, Ruth Baker, Lowry, Tammy Lowry, Peter Reese, Audrey Popson, and Jeff Popson.
Karen Mansfield/Obsever-Reporter
Heart transplant recipient Keith Lowry, left, and his wife, Tammy, shared their connection to organ donation at Allegheny General Hospital’s National Donate Life Month celebration held Monday. Lowry was the 500th person to undergo heart transplant surgery at AGH.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Keith and Tammy Lowry, center (fourth and fifth from left), with members of the Allegheny General Hospital staff, Center for Organ Recovery and Education, and Rashawn Parker, standing next to Tammy, who is awaiting a kidney transplant, at AGH’s National Donate Life celebration held on Monday.
Not a day goes by that Keith Lowry and his wife, Tammy, don’t think about how organ donation has changed their lives.
On Jan. 14, Lowry, of Dunbar, Fayette County, underwent heart transplant surgery at Allegheny General Hospital, marking the 500th heart transplant performed there since the hospital began doing them in 1985.
Just over two months later, on Monday, the Lowrys returned to AGH for the hospital’s National Donate Life Month kick-off, where the couple thanked the doctors, staff, family members, and the generous donor and donor family that saved his life.
And the Lowrys shared a remarkable story of how, since 1977, members of their family have both donated and received life-saving organs.
“Every day, we wake up grateful for the second chance, a second chance that we wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for someone else’s tragedy,” said Tammy. “To our donor family, we are so very sorry for your loss and we want to let you know we will fill this world with as much care, love and light as we can to honor you and your loved one’s life legacy.”
Lowry’s journey toward a new heart began on Sept. 14, 1994, when he suffered a massive heart attack at 39 years old. Within five months, he suffered two more heart attacks, which forced him to quit his job at Anchor Hocking Glass.
In 2003, Lowry underwent quadruple bypass surgery at AGH, and a year later doctors implanted a defibrillator in his chest.
But almost three decades since Lowry’s life-altering heart attack, his heart began to fail.
In August 2022, Lowry’s heart medication stopped working, and his cardiologist said a transplant was the only viable option left.
He was placed on the transplant list on Dec. 13, and at 5:22 a.m. on Jan. 14, the phone rang and Lowry got the call he had been waiting for.
“Through the generosity of a donor, Keith was offered a heart and we were off to the hospital,” said Tammy.
Lowry’s recovery is going well, and he recently completed a series of heart biopsies he underwent to monitor for any signs of rejection. He continues to return to AGH for regular checkups.
“I had not felt healthy for over 20 years. Before (the transplant), I had to just lie around. I had no energy, I couldn’t do anything,” said Lowry. “This means everything. I can get back to a normal life. I’m so grateful.”
But the Lowrys’ connection to organ donation didn’t start with Keith’s heart transplant.
In 1977, Tammy Lowry’s mother, Joyce Leapline, received a kidney from Tammy’s aunt (Leapline’s sister), Ruth Baker, of Dunbar, who became a living donor.
Leapline had battled health issues since she was a teenager; she started dialysis when Tammy was in first grade and underwent her first kidney transplant – from Baker – when Tammy was 11 years old.
In 1988, Leapline was in need of a liver transplant, and she received one from a 14-year-old boy from North Carolina who had passed away.
Medication to treat Leapline’s liver disease, however, damaged her kidney, and in 1995, Tammy and her brother underwent testing to see if they were a match. Her brother was, and donated a kidney to his mother.
Eight years later, in 2003, Tammy became a living donor herself when she donated a kidney to a friend in Virginia, Rhea Bowers, who needed a transplant. Several family members of Bowers, who was a military veteran and father of three, had undergone testing but none were a match.
“That’s when I thought of my Aunt Ruth. She donated her kidney to my mother over 25 years before that, and she’s doing fine,” said Tammy. “Seeing her live a long and healthy life post-donation gave me the confidence to know that I would be all right if I became a living donor, so I decided to get tested anonymously.”
She traveled to Norfolk, and after rounds of testing, results showed she was a match.
On Labor Day, at a cookout at Bowers’ house, Tammy surprised him by presenting him with a plaque that read, “To be redeemed for one left kidney.”
“Being touched so intimately with donation has been a blessing for my family and me for many years,” said Tammy.
After Leapline’s successful liver transplant, Lowry, who had been dating Tammy for a year, was inspired to sign up to be an organ donor when he renewed his driver’s license.
Despite Lowry’s health issues – he also has battled bladder cancer – “our lives were anything but dark and gray,” said Tammy.
The couple opened their home to foster children for 17 years, and in 2006 they welcomed a 12-year-old boy, Peter Reese, now 30, who has become a part of their family.
Reese, along with several of Lowry’s family members, attended the kick-off and flag-raising ceremony Monday at AGH.
Donate Life Month is held annually in April to encourage organ donation awareness, and to honor organ donors and their families.
The Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), a nonprofit that partners with academic medical centers to coordinate surgical transplant procedures, also took part in AGH’s event.
In 2022, nearly 900 life-saving organ transplants were made possible in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“Most importantly, National Donate Life Month is a time when we honor the generous donors and donor families whose decision to give the gift of life has provided hope and healing to so many in our community,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE.
AHN joins just three other transplant centers in Pennsylvania that have performed 500 or more heart transplants, and it is now one of fewer than 70 medical centers nationwide to reach that milestone.
“Our recent milestone is a testament to the flexibility and skill of our coordinators, nurses and physicians, and our partners at CORE,” said Dr. Stephen Bailey, heart transplant surgeon and chair of AHN Cardiovascular Institute. “Most importantly, it’s critical to recognize the life-saving gifts from our donors and their families, which make our organization’s remarkable efforts possible.”
The Lowry family advocates for organ donation, and encourages everyone to register to be an organ donor.
“People absolutely need to donate,” said Baker, who is thankful she had the chance to provide a kidney for her sister 46 years ago. “When it’s someone you love, you just think they’re going to have more life ahead of them and you do it.”
Nationally, more than 104,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, including 2,500 in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. About 17 will die each day without receiving the transplant they need.
According to CORE, one organ donor can save up to eight lives, and a tissue donor can improve the lives of 100 others.
On Dec. 17, Keith and Tammy will celebrate their 37th year together.
“Every day we have together is full of life and love, and each day is another milestone for us,” said Tammy, noting the significance of Lowry receiving the 500th heart transplant at the hospital. “Five hundred families are whole again because of the work of the heart transplant team here at AGH. Five hundred people got to feel their heart beat again because of the selfless act of a donor and their family. Five hundred people feel the best they have felt in years because of the hard work and dedication of CORE. Five hundred people like Keith have another day with their loved ones because of the talent and skills of the staff here at AGH, the tireless support and coordination through CORE, and the selfless gift of a donor and their family.”