Oregon State Assistant Football Coach Gives the Gift of Life

OHSU in Portland, is home to one of the world’s oldest transplant programs, performing the first one in 1959.

OSU offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf Photo: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Laurie Cavanaugh, wife of Mike Cavanaugh, Oregon State University assistant football coach, underwent living-donor kidney transplant surgery and removal of both of her diseased kidneys at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital Tues., May 29th.

Her donor is 34-year-old OSU offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf.

Both are doing well.

“First of all, the OHSU folks have been fabulous to us,” Mike Cavanaugh said. “They have kept our family and the Langsdorfs updated every step of the way, and we could have not hoped for a better experience and professionalism from the staff here.”

The transplant was performed to treat Laurie’s autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, an inherited disorder that affects approximately 1 in 1,000 people.

Patients with this disease suffer progressive kidney failure, usually in mid to late life. In Laurie’s case, her kidneys were enlarged.

“The average kidney is the size of a fist; her kidneys were the size of two heads,” said John Barry, M.D., Laurie’s transplant surgeon and longtime director of the OHSU Kidney Transplant Program. “The surgery took about six hours, and her new kidney began working within minutes.”

Michael Conlin, M.D., associate professor of surgery (urologic surgery), OHSU School of Medicine, removed Langsdorf’s kidney. Langsdorf was identified as being a donor match through tests with 18 individuals.

“When you work as closely as a coaching staff does, you develop some really deep and solid friendships -- I guess you could say this is the ultimate in friendship,” Mike Cavanaugh said.

Both Langsdorf and Mike Cavanaugh are in their third years on the coaching staff, with Langsdorf serving as the offensive coordinator and Cavanaugh as the offensive line coach.

“I want to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers during this time,” Mike Cavanaugh said. “The outreach from people has been tremendous. We are looking forward to returning home.”

OHSU is home to one of the world’s oldest transplant programs, performing the first one in 1959.

There have been nearly 3,800 successful kidney transplants at the Portland facility since and OHSU remains one of the world-wide leaders in the procedure.

Send your thoughts and best wishes to the Cavanaughs and Langsdorfs at mike.danny@oregonstate.edu

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