It was a seemingly normal day in 2018 when Peter Zatezalo bent down to put air in a tire on his tractor. He recalls “losing his breath” but felt completely fine when he stood up. But any time he’d bend over again, he couldn’t breathe.
Peter visited a clinic in his hometown of Weirton, W.Va, where he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Peter was eventually treated with oxygen therapy, and ultimately, prescribed medication to help his breathing. But when that didn’t work, Peter’s condition continued to grow worse, and his pulmonologist referred him to UPMC.
Getting the Call
In 2023, Peter was introduced to Mark Snyder, MD, at the Falk Medical Building in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Dr. Snyder ordered pulmonary function testing that revealed Peter had only 14% lung capacity. He was then asked if he’d considered the possibility of getting a lung transplant.
“That’s a better option than not being around,” Peter explains.
After two years of evaluation and rehabilitation, Peter was added to the transplant waiting list on April 10, 2025. A week later, he got the call informing him that lungs were available, and, on April 17, Norihisa Shigemura, MD, PhD, performed a double lung transplant at UPMC Presbyterian.
"I distinctly remember waking up on April 20 with two new lungs and no breathing tubes," Peter recalls. “I was in a bit of a panic at first because I didn’t have my oxygen that I had been connected to for so long, but I quickly realized I didn’t need it.”
Life After Transplant
By late May, after weeks of rehab, Peter was back home in West Virginia and very grateful to have his life back.
“I can now get up in the morning, take a shower, and be out the door in 20 to 30 minutes. That routine used to take two hours because I had to keep stopping due to being out of breath,” Peter says. “My world had closed down. I lived between my couch, my bathroom, and my refrigerator. I couldn’t go anywhere. It was a different life. I felt closed in and alone — but not anymore.”
And the 63-year-old is extremely grateful to his care team who was there to support him.
“Dr. Snyder and Dr. Shigemura are the best,” he says. “Everyone in the hospital would check on me and take good care of me, from preparing for surgery to the rehab process afterwards. I had a great experience with UPMC."
And most of all — Peter appreciates the individual who agreed to be an organ donor.
“It’s tough to think about how there had to be a loss of life to make this possible,” Peter says. “But you realize this generous gift came from someone who wanted to do something special for someone else.”
Peter’s treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.
