Thursday, September 3, 2009

Several weeks ago, my niece received the phone call that parents pray will never come. Her 24-year-old son, Andy, was gravely injured and being taken by CareFlite to Methodist Medical Center.

At the hospital, Jennifer learned that Andy was in the neurological intensive care unit, with a brain injury from a self-inflicted gunshot wound described as "nonsurvivable." Despite that most grim report, physicians conducted tests through the night to determine whether there was any brain function or any chance for survival.

A bit after 4 a.m. the doctors pronounced Andy brain-dead. That gunshot wound, whether intentional or accidental, destroyed not only Andy's life but forever altered the lives of his parents, grandparents and countless other relatives and friends.

In those first moments, you might think the only issue on the family's mind would be when to remove Andy from life support and what to do about funeral services. But, thankfully, Andy's family was able to think about others, even at this most horrific time. So they talked to the hospital staff about donating Andy's organs for transplant.

That decision set in motion a 36-hour process – both tragic and uplifting – a process filled with incredible pain and a glimmer of peace. Through it all, Andy's parents were guided by a team of professional, incredibly compassionate people from Methodist Medical Center and Southwest Transplant Alliance.

The counselors dealt with Andy and our family with great dignity and understanding, explaining in detail what we could expect and the approximate time required to complete the donation.

The immediate issue for the medical staff was to conduct key tests necessary for matching Andy's organs with potential recipients. As those tests were being conducted, one of Andy's dearest friends who had been keeping watch with us asked if it would be possible for one of Andy's organs to go directly to someone he knows.

He shared with us the story of a good friend from his childhood who suffered end-stage renal disease. Now living in Florida, she had undergone two previous kidney transplants; her body rejected both. The counselors told us that, indeed, she could be given priority if there were a tissue match.

With the tests completed, information about Andy was distributed, and by the next morning two other matches had been made. An older man would receive Andy's heart and a middle-aged man one of his kidneys. And, yes, the Florida woman was a perfect match for the other.

Later that morning, Andy's parents said goodbye to their son and gave the gift of life to three people they had never met. What an extraordinary gift.

Yet each of us has the power to do the same. It's very simple. We can register as organ donors by going to www.donatelifetexas.org and completing the very simple form posted there.

I did exactly that last week, and I hope you, too, will register to donate the precious gift of life when your time on this earth ends.

By the way, the young woman in Florida went into surgery at 7 p.m. on the day Andy died. There is no evidence of rejection, and she plans to come to Dallas this fall to meet my niece, the woman who gave her the chance for a new life.

Donna D. Halstead is president of the Dallas Citizens Council.