Threads of Love Donor Memorial Quilts: Quilt 8

3/11/87 - 2/7/04

Ryan was a 16-year-old junior at Steelton-Highspire High School when the car he was riding in struck a tree as he and two of his friends were on their way to the mall less than a mile from home. Ryan had massive head trauma and spent a week in the hospital before it was determined that he had no brain stem activity.

When Ryan got his driver's license one month before the accident, he said YES to organ donation. Little did we know that we would carry out his decision so soon. We strongly fee that Ryan's decision to become an organ donor was influenced by a young man who came to speak to his youth group in the Fall of 2003. This young man talked about his journey through a childhood illness that eventually led to him receiving a kidney transplant. We later found out that Ryan had gone back to school and encouraged his classmates to become organ donors.

Six people are alive today because of Ryan's decision, and the lives of many others within and outside of Pennsylvania have been enhanced through his tissue donations. Ryan's memory lives on through his family and through his transplant recipients. We have had the honor of meeting two of the recipients and hope to some day meet them all.

Our family has established the Ryan Lee Mohn Memorial Foundation to continue Ryan's legacy. The Foundation provides scholarships to graduating seniors from Ryan's high school and makes donations in his memory to other worthwhile causes. Much of the proceeds from the Foundation come from an annual walk held in Ryan's memory.

Our family is committed to doing whatever is possible to raise awareness of the need for organ donation.

Alison, Ron, and Cristen Mohn

November 5, 2006