Claire Wineland, Beloved Cystic Fibrosis Advocate, Dies After Double Lung Transplant

Claire Wineland, a young woman with cystic fibrosis known for her advocacy work and social media presence, died on Sunday night, her nonprofit confirmed on Facebook. She was 21. Wineland had a massive stroke on August 26, after a successful double lung transplant. A statement posted Monday from Claire’s Place Foundation’s Chairman of the Board Laura McHolm reads:

Yesterday, Claire’s family and a few very close friends came to say their final farewells and offer their support to the family.

In Claire fashion, she is an organ donor. Claire’s remarkable family were so happy for the other families that were now getting the calls that the organ they had long been waiting for was now available for transplant. They had been on the receiving end of that call just one short week ago.

We know Claire was loved all over the world. Your prayers, support and encouraging words, have been a huge source of strength for her and her family. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your massive amazing out pouring of love.

We are asking to please give the family privacy at this time. They have so generously shared their lovely Claire’s remarkable journey with us all, but now is the time to give them some peace from the public spotlight. They will emerge eventually, but please give them the time to come to terms with their family member’s passing.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to Claire’s foundation.

Claire’s Place Foundation is committed to upholding Claire’s legacy by assisting Cystic Fibrosis families in need.

In the words of our precious founder Claire Wineland: “Death is Inevitable. Living a life we can be proud of is something we can control.”

You sure made the whole world proud of you Claire!

She was one red hot spark of inspiration and joy, wasn’t she? Rest In Peace Sweet Warrior Claire, we will continue where you left off.

About 30,000 people in the U.S. have CF, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Wineland gained popularity for her videos, where she candidly discussed the hardest parts of CF, often with humor and a smile. She had more than 200,000 YouTube followers and 94,000 Instagram followers.

Wineland went on Facebook Live on The Mighty from her hospital room in January 2017 to talk with our community about new year resolutions and life with CF. We’re grateful for all the work she’s done — we’ll miss her dearly.