More than 120,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant. One organ donor can impact up to 50 lives. My best friend was among those who save people.
By the time I reached his hospital room, I was told that my best friend of 45 years was gone. He didn’t look gone. There were tubes and wires and he was breathing. But it was all happening through machines. My friend, Jon, was an organ donor. Organ donation is not a simple process, nor can it be done without meticulous organization. Before the organ donation medical team can begin recovering organs, every single thing must be in place; every recipient must be selected and prepared. It all happens at once, and seconds count.
I spent more than five hours in the room with him. Perhaps it was 10 hours. I don’t know. Nurses came and went, all so remarkably empathetic. A wonderful hospital chaplain came and answered my questions to the best of her ability. But mostly, the people involved were the medical team from the organ donation center. They, too, were empathetic to an extent few could expect to see in today’s world. They were all very busy people, but they were all willing to stop to answer questions, even the most inane, even the most garbled through tears. They were all compassionate enough to understand the pain on one side of their job and to do what they could to alleviate it, while also understanding the joy that would soon be occurring on the other side of their job: That side involved the many lives that Jon would save.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew he was gone. For the hours that I was there, I held his hand. Despite so many decades of friendship, had he been there, he would have mustered up the strength to punch me for that. I asked a nurse how he could possibly be gone. She said that the hit he had taken was exactly wrong, a fluke, perhaps. Had there been the slightest shift, perhaps even the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, he may have just suffered a concussion and had one hell of a headache. I asked her if she thought he had felt any pain when it happened. She put her hand on my arm and said gently, “No, he didn’t.”
In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day last weekend, LifeLink Foundation, a nonprofit organ donation organization told the story of a Tampa Bay woman who would celebrate the day with a new heart that she received from an organ donor. She is alive today because someone left this world, someone thoughtful enough to leave behind a legacy of life.
“I give thanks to God who made all things possible,” said heart recipient Marnita Johnson. “Also, my heartfelt thanks go to my transplant team and the nursing staff at Tampa General Hospital; LifeLink Legacy Fund; my family; my pastor and church family; and most importantly, my organ donor.”
My friend donated through LifeSource, which operates in three states in the Upper Midwest. LifeLink operates in several Florida counties, including Hillsborough, along with other states in the South. In all, there are 58 organ procurement organizations operating in the United States.
Those who work for such organizations do walk a fine line between death and life. On the same day, sometimes within hours, they see and experience both devastation and joy. The organizations work together. Some of Jon’s organs went to people outside of LifeSource. Their goal is simply to save lives through the ultimate act of generosity of those who have gone before us. Today, more than 120,000 Americans are waiting for transplants.
According to LifeLink, one organ donor can potentially benefit 50 or more people.
In the hospital room, a nurse arrived with members of the organ donation team. They needed to run some final tests. She again gently put her hand on my arm and told me that things could happen fast and that, perhaps, it would be a good time for me to say goodbye to my friend. No doubt she had done something similar countless times but her compassion and empathy was so genuine. Through tears I nodded a yes and the team left for a few moments. And then they returned to fulfill Jon’s desire to save the lives of people who he would never know, nor would they ever know him. But I knew him; I knew the kind of person he was. He gave selflessly to the very end and beyond.
LifeSource asked Jon’s mother if she would be open to providing her mailing address to the recipients. She was. Not long after, she received a letter from a woman in Michigan. The woman’s doctors told her that she had, perhaps, two weeks left to live unless a donor could be found. On May 5, 2015, my friend, Jon Kaiser, saved her life. She no doubt prayed for a new kidney but she certainly would never have prayed that Jon lose his life. But such is life. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. But by becoming organ donors, we do know what can happen after we pass. At the end of our days, we can still save others.
Jon’s mother has since heard from other recipients. Someday, or perhaps never, she may be offered the opportunity to meet those whom her son saved. Somewhere in America, his heart extended a man’s life. His lungs are providing fresh air for possibly two others. His eyes have given the gift of sight; his skin and other tissue have helped others. The list goes on. The impact cannot be calculated.
Jon was my friend. He was a good man in life, and a good man in passing. Today there are parents, spouses, friends and so many more who, like Ms. Johnson with her new heart from an unnamed donor, are eternally thankful to a man that I loved like my brother. He saved their lives, the lives of those loved by others.
I grew up with Jon. We had so many dreams; most didn’t come true but some did. I learned so much from him. Beneath my photo on my driver’s license, in distinct red / orange letters, are the words “ORGAN DONOR.” We were fast friends in life; I have to believe we will remain so beyond life.
We will all pass on someday. Jon did so as a hero simply through being selfless and generous in life. Jon chose to be an organ donor.
It is easy to become an organ donor, and age is rarely a disqualifier.
For information about LifeLink Foundation, serving Hillsborough County, visit www.lifelinkfoundation.org.
For information about LifeSource, visit www.donatelifemn.org.