Donor's family reaches out to recipient

March 22, 2009

Donor's family reaches out to recipient

By Alvin Benn

TALLASSEE -- Neil Moody looked into the eyes of a young man he met for the first time Saturday and saw his dead son.

Shane Moody died in a car accident two years ago, but one of his kidneys has given Stephen Potts new life.

"It's like I've been reborn," the 19-year-old Tallassee High School junior said after meeting Shane's parents face-to-face for the first time Saturday. "Shane saved my life."

Several others with medical emergencies benefited from Shane's organs, and the father of the 20-year-old south Alabama restaurant worker wasn't a bit surprised.

His son, who was to have been married in the summer of 2007, had his organ donor preference listed on his driver's license. His parents had the option of saying no, but wouldn't do it.

"Who are we to stop someone from giving the gift of life?" Moody said.

When Moody and his wife, Cathy, learned their son was brain dead as a result of the accident, they instructed doctors to remove him from life support.

It was a painful decision, but as the months passed since their son's death, they have been strengthened by his desire to help others.

Neil Moody said doctors have transplanted his son's other kidney, heart, both lungs, pancreas, corneas and bone marrow into the bodies of those in desperate need.

When Potts said he now has much more energy as a result of being removed from dialysis treatments three times a week, Cathy Moody smiled for the first time since the meeting began.

"Shane was very hyper," she said. "He was full of energy and could stay up most of the night. Listening to Stephen talk about that reminded me of Shane."

Another reminder of her son caused her to break into tears as she chatted with Stephen and Geraldine Daniel, his grandmother who, along with her husband, Robert, raised him.

The two families met in Tallassee at a restaurant on Jordan Avenue -- the same name of a street in a small town near Dothan where their son received his fatal injuries two years ago.

The Daniel couple and their grandson signed waivers to be identified to the donor's family. As a result, Stephen spoke to the Moodys a few times before meeting them Saturday.

In past years, organ donors and recipients preferred anonymity, but transplant operations are happening more frequently today. The Moodys and their son's kidney recipient seemed to relish the meeting.

The Moodys, both of whom work at the Farley Nuclear Plant in Houston County, have made it a point to meet with all the recipients of Shane's organs.

The first was 48-year-old Crestview, Fla., resident Eddie Merritt, who received Shane's heart and both lungs.

Merritt's waist size had dropped from a 36 to a boy's 16 as his condition worsened. Doctors weren't giving him much hope of surviving without transplant surgery.

"There's some guilt that recipients have," Neil Moody said. "Eddie felt guilty at first. He wondered why Shane had to die for him to live. But we know it's not God's will for anyone to die."

A few months before he died, Shane told his parents that he had a dream he would be in a car crash and might not survive.

As he prepared to leave his fiancee after a visit on Jan. 15, 2007, Shane told her he was "going home," his mother said.

"Tiffany told him she knew he was going home, but that she'd see him again in a few days," Cathy Moody said. "Then Shane looked up into the sky, raised his arms and told her he was 'going home.'"

Neil Moody said a teenage boy received Shane's other kidney, while two people from Missouri received his corneas.

All of the transplants have been a success, Shane's father said.

"Every one of the recipients is doing wonderfully well," he said. "Rejections mean trouble when it comes to organ transplants, but, so far, so good."

Shane was an active churchgoer and so is Stephen, whose church is across the street from where he met his donor's parents Saturday.

Stephen, who is a grade behind in school because of his kidney problems, said he hopes to go to college and major in a subject that will provide a good career for him.

"For someone to give a part of themselves to someone else to live is truly a blessing and I feel a responsibility to succeed in life because of what Shane has done for me," Stephen said.

Shane's life-saving gift should mean decades of good health for Stephen if there are no rejection problems.

He said he will always remember his good fortune.

Neil Moody isn't going to forget either, especially when it comes to those who have benefited from his son's gift of life.

"I tell them they better keep up with their checkups because they're also taking care of my son," he said.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090322/NEWS02/903220305/1007/news01

PHOTO: Stephen Potts, center, holds photos of Shane Moody, an organ donor whose kidney has meant new life for the Tallassee teenager. With him Saturday are Moody's parents, Neil and Cathy Moody. (Alvin Benn)