a bond between two longtime family friends has deepened after both michigan men received organs from the same donor fred nelis, 60, of holland, got a new heart, while 67 year old gordon veldman of pentwater, got a new pair of lungs the operations were held at the exact same time at a grand rapids hospital last june nelis and veldman have been close friends for over a decade, however their transplants were completely coincidental incredible bond: gordon veldman and fred nelis have been friends for over a decade, but now consider themselves 'organ brothers' after each received a transplant from the same donor last june, saving their lives  lifesaving operation: fred nelis, 60, underwent a heart transplant after living with idiopathic cardiomyopathy for the last 20 years  on the mend: gordon veldman, 67, received a lung transplant to escape a genetic disease that reduced his lung capacity to 15 percent last year  the medical director of the heart and lung transplant program at spectrum health says it was the program's first simultaneous friend transplant that he's aware of 'it's pretty wild,' dr michael dickinson told the grand rapids press 'we thought it was quite a remarkable story when it happened 'it's nice for us because it kind of shows the growth of the program   that we were able to help both of these two friends right here in west michigan' both men suffered from chronic conditions that caused their health to rapidly deteriorate before their transplants nelis has been suffering for 20 years with idiopathic cardiomyopathy   a progressive heart disease with an unknown cause then in 2013 he developed atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, and was placed on the heart transplant in march 2014 'organ brothers': godron veldman (left) and fred nelis (right) say they now put their heart and lungs together each time they see each other to show how thankful they are for their transplants  veldman has a genetic disease called alpha 1, which would potentially destroy his lungs, and caused him to develop emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease one year ago his lung capacity fell to 15 percent, making everyday talks like walking incredibly difficult 'the end was very near,' he said 'i probably had two months left' then on june 18, 2014, both men received a call   the wait was over they were both admitted to spectrum health and underwent transplants, with nelis getting a new heart and veldman new lungs new lease on life: fred nelis was a competitive swimmer for 40 years, before developing heart issues  both have rebounded since the operations the men known little about their 32 year old donor, however were able to send a letter to the man's family through gift of life michigan veldman said that he and nelis put their new heart and lungs as close as they can every time they meet 'we got a gift, and it's best that we treat it as such,' nelis said grateful: gordon veldman (left) and fred nelis (right) say a single organ donor saved them both  to see more photos of veldman and nelis, visit wwwglasslakesphotographycom 
gordan veldman fred nelis veldman 15 percent nelis spectrum health grand rapids michigan
gordan veldman, 67, and fred nelis, 60, are friends of over 10 years  veldman suffered a genetic disorder that reduced his lung capacity to 15 percent and would have surely killed him  nelis was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy 20 years ago  both received a call on june 18, 2014, that a donor had been found  they underwent transplants on the same day at spectrum health in grand rapids, michigan  both have rebounded and put their heart and lungs together each meeting 