Year later, organ recipients unite to thank mother of donor

Year later, organ recipients unite to thank mother of donor

Organ recipients meet mother of donor

08:27 AM CST on Sunday, December 2, 2007

By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
tdhobbs@dallasnews.com

Four people met at a Flower Mound home Saturday and honored a man they'd never met. They were grateful for the gifts he'd given them: a liver, kidneys and a set of lungs.

Christopher Bonner died from injuries after his motorcycle collided with a pickup in Plano one year ago today. Four of the eight individuals who received organs and tissues from the 30-year-old corporate pilot gathered for the first time and met Mr. Bonner's mother and stepfather.

Such gatherings are becoming more common between donor families and recipients, said Pam Silvestri, a spokeswoman with the Southwest Transplant Alliance. She said about 15 years ago the trend was against such meetings, for anonymity reasons, until the donation community realized what good it does.

"The benefits are, on the side of the recipient, to get to meet the actual family whose decision gave them a second chance," Ms. Silvestri said. "And the family gets to see and meet the person who's taken good care of the special gift."

At the Southwest Transplant Alliance, both the recipient and donor family must agree to have their information released to the other. The alliance acts as the facilitator.

Gary Pressler and his wife, Mary, hosted the gathering Saturday. Mr. Pressler received both of Mr. Bonner's lungs. The organ recipients at the gathering, ages 11 to 65, arrived one by one with their families, embracing their donor's mother, Norma Peters, as if they'd known her for years. A video picture display of Mr. Bonner, mostly with friends, played on the TV during the gathering.

Mrs. Peters said there was no hesitation to donate her son's organs and tissues.

"I know what he wanted," she said. "He was such a giving person, so loving."

Some recipients were tearful as they thanked Mrs. Peters, while some were anxious about going to the meeting. It was her son's death that made it possible for them to keep on living.

"I really had a hard time sleeping last night," Mike Roach, who received a liver, told Mrs. Peters.

Also at the gathering were Jordan Gaut, an 11year-old from Garland – the youngest of the group – who received the left kidney, and Adan Sanchez, who received the other kidney.

Jordan was a bundle of energy. A big contrast to about a year ago when he had 7 percent kidney function, said his mother, Melissa French. He had his surgery on Dec. 5, 2006, and was back playing baseball in March, she said.

And if Jordan could say something to Mr. Bonner, he said he'd tell him, "Baseball's awesome."

Four recipients didn't make the gathering. Of those, two received corneas, another got Mr. Bonner's heart and another got the pancreas.

Mr. Pressler initiated the contact with Mr. Bonner's mother through the alliance. He suggested that they meet after finding out Mrs. Peters and her husband, who are Colorado residents, were coming to the Dallas area to remember Mr. Bonner's death.

"I had a tremendous need to say thank you for the two lungs I got," said Mr. Pressler, 63, who had pulmonary fibrosis. He estimates that he had two months to live, possibly a little longer, before receiving the lungs on Dec. 4, just hours after Mr. Bonner's death.

"I feel great; my lungs have been wonderful," said Mr. Pressler, a retired airline pilot – an occupation he notes he had in common with Mr. Bonner. "I'm playing with my grandkids."

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