
Eight-year-old Emily King, who has had two double lung transplants, runs toward her brother Parker, 13, while playing in the yard at her Sanford home. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
Emily King is counting down the days and weeks when she can go back to school and play basketball and soccer. Join the cheerleading team. Learn to swim underwater.
The 8-year-old from Sanford hopes to be able to do all those things this spring.
For now, her family has to hold her back because she is immunocompromised after getting her second double lung transplant in July. She was 2 years old and critically ill when she got her first.
But Emily and her family feel lucky to have another chance at life.
“She’s feeling like herself now,” said her mother, Stephanie. “She wants to do all of the things. She doesn’t let a lot keep her down. But still, you live every day wondering if we are going to lose her. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Organ transplants of all types have increased in Maine and across the country, according to statistics provided by New England Donor Services.
In Maine, the number of transplant recipients increased from 66 in 2019 to 124 in 2024 — 88% in five years — with the biggest jump occurring in the last two years.
The number of Mainers who donated organs rose from 42 in 2019 to 78 in 2024.
Maine’s increase is similar to all of New England. The numbers are up nationally as well, although not as dramatically. Across the U.S., organ donations increased from about 39,000 in 2019 to more than 48,000 in 2024, a 23% increase.
“Many factors are coming together all at once to be responsible for this incredible growth,” said Alex Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services. “More people are saying ‘yes’ to organ donation, and more organs are recoverable.”

Emily King inspects icicles while playing on the swing set at her family’s home. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
Glazier said they’ve learned that if health professionals connected to the organ donor system talk to families about organ donation earlier in the process of a family member dying, then families are more likely to agree to the donation.
Also, technology has improved so organs are in better condition and more likely to be eligible for donation when the person dies, Glazier said.
“It used to be when we recovered from the body of donor, the organ would go on ice,” Glazier said. “Now it goes into a device to keep the organ viable for longer.”
Still, the wait can be difficult and emotional, because the recipient’s family knows that someone else had to die — another child, in Emily’s case — in order for a transplant to become available.
And the need still far outpaces the number of donors. About 100,000 people are on organ donation waiting lists nationwide.
But, with two lung transplants, one in 2019 and the latest one performed on July 17 —both at Boston Children’s Hospital — Emily King is embracing her new chance at life.
Her new lungs could keep her alive for a few years, a decade or perhaps even 30 years or longer. No one knows, Stephanie King said.

The King family poses for a photo outside their Sanford home. Children in front row are Parker, 13, Emily, 8, and Chase 11. Stephanie and Justin are in the back. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
The whole family has had to learn to live with uncertainty.
We don’t know how long we have or don’t have,” said Emily’s father, Justin King. “We can’t ignore it, but we don’t spend all our time thinking about it.”
When waiting for her first transplant in 2019, Emily was only days or weeks from dying from interstitial lung disease, which causes inflammation and scarring of lung tissue.
“We were pretty hopeless. I remember thinking I may not have a daughter on Mother’s Day. We were planning for her funeral,” Stephanie King said. “But then we got the call. She was a match. In that moment, the only feeling was one of hope.”
The Kings waited seven months for Emily’s second transplant after the lungs from her first transplant began to fail.
Justin King said that the family feels “very lucky and fortunate and blessed to get a second chance.”
“Waiting for the second transplant was pretty rough, and I was prepared to wait even longer,” Justin King said. “We were very lucky to get a second transplant at all.”

Emily King smiles at her father, Justin, while playing in the yard. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
Stephanie King said that at first there were no symptoms to indicate Emily’s lungs were failing, but the monitors showed her “very quickly losing lung functioning” in October 2023.
“She was often breathless and quiet and tired. She would sleep a ton during the day,” Stephanie said.
It made it difficult to attend school, even virtually.
“It was really scary and rocky for a while,” Justin King said. “Right now we are in a really good place. It feels pretty good.”
Emily still has to take 13 medications every day, but she has a lot of energy.
“There’s a lot of feelings and emotions she deals with that you never see,” Justin said. “She handles it all in stride, and keeps a super positive attitude.”
The Kings connected with the New Jersey family of the lung donor, a child who died in 2019, and have kept in touch through the years. The family from New Jersey declined an interview.
Emily, meanwhile, is focused on going back to school and seeing her friends.
“They are so nice, they warm my heart,” she said.

Emily King plays on the swings with her brothers. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
Her brothers, Parker, 13, and Chase, 11, are good company in the meantime, she said, though they also have typical sibling relationships.
“I like them, but they are really annoying,” Emily said, whispering and giggling.
Emily is also close to the numerous doctors, nurses and other health professionals who have cared for her over the years. She plays pranks on her doctors and nurses but also wants to give back and help others, such as making key chains to sell at fundraisers to support organ donation.
She’s had a lot of complications since her second surgery, but now is feeling healthy and ready to take on the world, her parents said.
“It’s amazing what an 8-year-old can do to inspire other people,” Stephanie King said.
This story was updated at 10:35 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, to correct the spelling of Alex Glazier’s name.
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