With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. In Sylacauga, volunteers are raising funds for transplant patients like local teen Shane Calfee.

Born on December 5, 1990, Shane was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis or FSGS and Nephrotic Syndrome in 1993. Doctors at University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, performed a life-saving kidney transplant October 23, 2008. An estimated $45,000 is being raised by Sylacauga volunteers.

To find out more information about Nephrotic Syndrome and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)check out www.nephcure.org.