Utahns commemorate lives saved by organ donation


7 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Rebecca Nielson decided to become an organ and tissue donor just days after her own daughter's death.

"She motivated me," Nielson, of South Jordan, said. "We are so proud of her choice."

Her daughter, Emily Nielson, 24, died suddenly on Sept. 11, 2015, of a pulmonary embolism resulting from a recent knee surgery. Doctors soon after informed her parents that she was a donor, but because she died at home, and not on a ventilator, just her eyes and other tissues would be beneficial to others.

They didn't hesitate to consent, hoping Emily's gift could help another to live. Family and friends said they would love to meet the people who benefited from their loss.

"It'd be like looking into her eyes," said Nicole Lynn, a longtime friend of Emily. "I would love to see that."

And similarly, because her life has been changed by the generosity of others, Madison Richardson, of Lehi, said, "Not a day goes by that I don't think of my donors."

She has received two cornea transplants in recent years.

Plagued with a progressive eye disease called karatoconus, Richardson was legally blind by high school. She endured teasing for the thick glasses and contacts she needed to wear to even see a little bit. But when 11-year-old Levi Johnson was hit and killed by a drunk driver, Richardson got a new lease on life, particularly her quality of life.

She keeps a photo of Levi in her home and hopes to soon meet the donor of the cornea in her other eye.

Jennifer German and Wendy Santoro cry during the Celebration of Life Monument Ceremony at Library Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Nearly 6,700 people have donated their organs and are named on the wall. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
Jennifer German and Wendy Santoro cry during the Celebration of Life Monument Ceremony at Library Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Nearly 6,700 people have donated their organs and are named on the wall. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

"It's changed me," she said. "Every day I am pushed to be a better person because of these families."

This year, there were 619 names of deceased donors and 31 names of living donors added to the Celebration of Life Monument at Library Square in Salt Lake City. The 6,673 names that now grace the glass walls of the monument were remembered Saturday at a ceremony honoring the gift of life each donor gave through organ, eye, tissue, whole body or living donation.

Dr. Terry Box, a transplant doctor at the University of Utah who also found himself needing a new liver in 2011, said the ceremony is "the only civic commemoration of its kind in the country."

He said many lives are saved and/or enhanced through the process of donation.

"It's a terribly wonderful experience," Box said, encouraging others to "contemplate the meaning of what you can create with your decisions."

The annual ceremony is hosted by Intermountain Donor Services, which coordinates the recovery and transplantation of organs. Executive Director Tracy Schmidt said he selfishly gains from doing his job, realizing the importance of each day with his loved ones.

"You realize every day is a gift," he said.

Even with the transplant, Richardson, 21, will never see perfectly, but she can see better than corrective lenses allowed in the past and that means more to her than anything, she said.

"She doesn't take it for granted," said Angela Richardson, Madison's mom. She knew Levi would be the one to help her daughter when she saw his tragic death on the news just days before Madison's surgery.


"You realize every day is a gift." — Tracy Schmidt, Executive Director of Intermountain Donor Services

"It just gave me chills," she said. "It does my mother heart well to be able to watch my kids be able to improve and have a normal life."

The two families — one that lost a son and one with a daughter who gained her sight — have become close through their hardships, and that mutual support becomes invaluable for any donor or recipient family, Schmidt said.

More than 600 Utahns are on waiting lists to receive necessary, life-saving organs and more than 70 percent of Utahns have registered as donors. But because of limited circumstances a person must be in when they die — in the hospital and on a ventilator — about 2 percent are actually eligible, according to Intermountain Donor Services.

Therefore, the more names on the registry, the better chances those fighting for survival might have. To sign up as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.idslife.org.

"We all benefit and share in the remarkable aspects of the incredibly generous and loving commitment to life that these families have made," Box said. Email: wleonard@deseretnews.com Twitter: wendyleonards

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahFamilyUplifting
Wendy Leonard

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast