JAMES CITY — After receiving a kidney and liver transplant this past May, fourth grader Langdon Richardson and his mother are advocating for the critical importance of organ donation.
Diagnosed at birth with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder impacting kidney and liver function, Langdon, 9, continues to recover after receiving two organ transplants donated from local teachers. According to the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation, autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, or ARPKD, impacts only one in 25,000 children, with around 80% requiring organ donations within the first 10 years of life.
After battling the disease since birth, Langdon’s family put him on the list for a living transplant a year ago.
One donor, Sarah Holland, is a close family friend and special education teacher at Lois Hornsby Middle School while his second donor chose to remain anonymous. Holland spoke on behalf of them both, saying that they couldn’t look at Langdon every day without taking action.
“I hemmed and hawed about getting tested,” Holland said. “I felt it was going to be me if I started this process. I just knew this was something I was supposed to be doing.”
After over 12 hours of surgery spanning two days, Langdon returned home from the University of Virginia Medical Center on July 2 with no complications from his procedures. According to his mom, his donors have told her that they would “do it again in a heartbeat.”
“Obviously we were anxious, we were scared, we were excited,” Tiffany Richardson said. “Knowing that your child is loved by so many people, it’s amazing.”
Despite the daunting process, Holland, who donated a kidney, said that she feels much closer to Langdon post-surgery. Her son, Owen, tells her that he and Langdon are “blood brothers.” Holland also praised the community that rallied to help both Langdon and his donors, mentioning that, at one point, more than $10,000 was raised to help her and the anonymous donor take time off of work.
Richardson said that there was a noticeable difference in Langdon’s demeanor starting directly after his procedures, and that they are excited to get back to a “new normal” as a family at their home in James City County. Langdon now visits Charlottesville every two weeks for follow-up appointments, and friends and community members are invited to follow his recovery journey on Facebook, called Langdon’s ARPKD Journey.
On Aug. 26, Langdon attended his first day of fourth grade at J. Blaine Blayton Elementary School.
“There’s so much I could say about all of the emotions today has brought,” Richardson wrote on Facebook. “We were blessed to have two amazing humans step up, and donate pieces of themselves to Langdon. Those selfless gifts gave Langdon this first day, and many more to come.”
Now, Langdon’s family hopes more attention will be offered to the importance of organ donation, especially after it has given Langdon an entirely new life. On Facebook, Richardson continues to post updates and shares the stories of other families in need of organ donations for their children.
She emphasized the fantastic community they have found through Langdon’s journey, and mentioned that he is excited to get back into his favorite hobbies.
“He’s talking about baseball and playing soccer and doing things that he hasn’t been able to do in the past two years,” she said. “It’s life changing; it’s life saving.”
Langdon’s family urges everyone to consider signing up to be organ donors through Donate Life America, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to “save and heal lives through transplantation.” Holland also emphasized the importance of both living and deceased donors, remarking that it was a small thing to do to change someone’s life.
In the case of a living donation, a living person donates an organ or part of an organ — most commonly a kidney or part of a liver. In 2023, more than 6,900 transplants were made possible by living donors, according to UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing.
“It’s just a step that you could be taking that could be so beneficial for so many lives,” Holland said. “You don’t have to be a living donor to make a difference.”
