Ava’s Heart Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization dedicated to providing resources and refuge that insurance does not cover to transplant patients and their families, who are unable to access or afford needed treatments and care. Integral to our mission is to raise awareness and to educate the public as to the challenges families face, both pre and post transplant, and to promote organ donation.
Ava’s Heart was founded by heart transplant recipient Ava Kaufman in 2011. We have helped over 200 families, the majority of those with post-transplant housing.
One of the crucial components of being eligible to receive a life saving organ is to show available funds for post-transplant housing. This temporary housing must be within thirty minutes of the transplant center, for the patient’s three months of post-transplant medical care.
Some states don’t have transplant centers; therefore many of those patients get sent here to Los Angeles. While Los Angeles has excellent transplant centers, its nearby temporary housing is prohibitively expensive. We aim to help every transplant patient with this critical need.
