Thanks to donor heroes, a future of hope is possible.
For families like Melanie’s, the generous decision to create a heroic legacy for her son Anthony through organ donation brings comfort and meaning at a time of deep personal loss. These special legacies provide a second chance at life to transplant recipients like Keath and Jessica, who each received the extraordinary gift of a double transplant. Everyone can help create a future of hope through the power of organ and tissue donation.
Melanie
Melanie Penna remembers her son Anthony’s kind spirit. “He was the one who would come up to somebody having a really bad day and make them smile,” she recalled. He excelled as a scholar, musician and athlete.
Today, Anthony’s legacy lives on through the lives he saved as an organ donor. “When we knew he wasn’t going to live, there was comfort knowing that others would,” Melanie said. “I just think the most unselfish thing you can do at the most excruciating moment of your life, when you’re losing a loved one, is to give life.”
Keath
Keath Gerald never imagined he would live long enough to become a father. In college, a viral infection caused sudden heart failure, leaving him in and out of hospitals and facing great uncertainty. A donor hero gave Keath his future – a future filled with rewarding work as a college counselor, the joys of fatherhood and the excitement of competing as a transplant athlete.
Keath honors his extraordinary gift of a heart and liver transplant by sharing his story as a testament to resilience, hope and the powerful impact of organ donation. “My donor is a hero in my eyes — a hero to me, my family and my friends,” Keath said.
Jessica
Jessica Gonzales was just 27 when she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease that is more prevalent among both African Americans and Latinos and can lead to organ failure. Jessica was unable to continue working as a teacher’s aide and missed special family occasions as the disease damaged her kidneys and later led to liver cancer.
Thanks to a kidney and liver transplant, Jessica is healthier than ever, working alongside her sister and joyfully sharing life with her two daughters. “I was bedridden a lot of the time. I was very sick. There are so many things I missed out on that I get to enjoy now. I have so much to look forward to. I have freedom. I have hope,” Jessica said.