By Lucy Laing / MailOnline
No one could be prouder of toddler Emily Smith than her parents Mark and Caroline.
But Pat and Dave Rogers run them pretty close.
When their son Adam died after being attacked on a night out, they agreed that his organs could be donated.
Mr Smith was among five recipients ? and his new kidney made him healthy enough to become a father at the age of 40. He was already in touch with Mr and Mrs Rogers after writing them a letter of thanks, and they shared his joy at Emily?s arrival.
?When we saw Mark and Caroline?s beautiful daughter it was so emotional, knowing that Adam had helped make it happen,? said Mrs Rogers, 59, from Blackburn, a former assistant principal of a sixth-form college.
More?
?Adam will never have the opportunity to be a father himself, so it?s nice that he has helped in some way for Mark?s baby to be born.?
A transport co-ordinator for a coach company, 24-year-old Adam was on a night out with friends in 2009 when another group became aggressive towards them.
?He was always a peacemaker and the cctv footage shows him trying to calm things down, but then suddenly he got punched in the face,? said his mother. ?He wasn?t expecting it and he fell backwards, hitting his head.?
Mrs Rogers and her 78-year-old husband, a retired teacher, had just arrived in Malta for a holiday when they received a phone call telling them that Adam had been taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
The couple, who have three other sons, returned home to be told that Adam was brain-dead and doctors could do nothing more.
Mrs Rogers said: ?We were in shock. We went straight to the hospital and Adam looked as though he was asleep.
?We had to say our goodbye to our son, when only a few hours before he had taken us to the airport for our holiday. In just a few senseless minutes, we had lost him.?
Adam was on the organ donor register, and doctors asked the couple whether they would consent to his organs being used for transplant.
Mrs Rogers said: ?We knew that is what he would have wanted. Adam was such a caring young man ? he knew the importance of organ donation. That made it an easier decision for us to make.?
Adam?s heart went to a man of 53, his lungs to a man of 66, his liver to a 54-year-old man, one kidney went to a boy of six and his remaining kidney and pancreas were given to Mr Smith, a laboratory assistant from Harrogate, who was seriously ill after diabetes attacked his kidneys.
He and his 33-year-old wife, a biomedical scientist, were keen to start a family, but could not because of his health.
Mrs Rogers said: ?All these people were in desperate need of a transplant.
?The man who had Adam?s liver had already had a transplant which had failed and he was dying. He had two children and for him it was a last chance.
?It was a comfort knowing that Adam had saved five people.? Mrs Rogers received thank-you letters from four of the recipients, including Mr Smith.
?It was lovely to hear from them all, knowing that Adam had lived on,? she said.
?I wrote back to Mark and told him about Adam, about what a lovely person he was.
?Then I had a letter back from Mark saying he had been able to father a little girl. We were so thrilled to hear it.?
Mr Smith, whose daughter is now 16 months old, said: ?I am so grateful for receiving the kidney and pancreas as it has saved my life and allowed me to become a father.?
Mr and Mrs Rogers, whose son?s killer was given four years for manslaughter, now give educational talks in schools about the importance of organ donation.
?Losing a child is the worst thing that could happen to you,? added Mrs Rogers. ?You don?t realise at the time that making a decision to donate organs is something that you will get comfort from later on.
?We have had to learn to live without Adam ? and our friendship with Mark makes that easier for us.?
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Moderator?s Note:
This posting about a young person dying and his organs saving others hits home?
As some of you may know, I have written plays.? A play I just finished is called: ?Life Don?t Give You No Do Overs? with a theme of? a 17 year old fatally injured in a high school football game.? His family is in conflict over whether or not to donate his organs. ? Currently I am ?shopping? the play around to theater groups in an effort to build awareness of organ donation by this edgy drama.? If you know anyone involved with a theater, please forward the link to my play?s website.? Thanks! ? Best, Andy
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Source: http://www.kidneytransplantblog.com/?p=1226
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