'WE DESERVE THE SAME CHANCE AT LIFE'

A HEART TRANSPLANT SAVED WOODWARD 13 YEARS AGO. NOW SHE'S FIGHTING TO MAKE SURE OTHERS WITH DISABILITIES DON'T FACE TRANSPLANT DISCRIMINATION

- EILEEN FINAN

Charlotte Woodward's doctors tell her she's a boring patient—despite the fact that she lives with a transplanted heart. “It’s because I’m so healthy,” she explains. “I take very good care of my heart.” Woodward, 35, knows she’s lucky. Born with a heart defect—like nearly half of all people with Down syndrome—she received her donor heart in 2012. But research has shown that more than 40 percent of pediatric transplant centers often consider intellectual disabilities a cause for concern when evaluating For organ transplants, because of assumptions that patients with disabilities may not be able to care for themselves and because of “preconceived notions about their quality of life,” says Michelle Sagan, communications director for the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). “Their life is seen as not as important.”

Speaking Out "She's always been passionate about helping others," says Woodward's mother, Darcy (together at a Congressional hearing in 2024).