Tragic Accident Kills One But Saves Seven
14-year-old victim's organs donated to many
Updated 7:33 PM EDT, Wed, Dec 3, 2008
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Seven people -- from a 1-year-old baby to middle-aged men and women -- are recovering from transplant surgery thanks to organ donations from one 14-year-old girl from western Loudoun County.
For Thanksgiving, Erin Ivey and her family vacationed with friends at a cabin by a pond at the Great North Mountain range near Winchester. The children were playing on a rope swing when the tree it was attached to snapped, knocking Erin unconscious and into the water.
Erin wanted to become a neonatal nurse and save lives, and she practiced caring for others and helping others every day, her family said. Not long before the accident that killed her on Thanksgiving Day -- her father's birthday -- she demonstrated that nature by running inside to get towels just in case someone fell in to the water.
When Erin's family learned that her organs could save seven lives and her skin tissue could enhance the lives of up to 100 people, they knew that's what she would want.
The Ivey family wants to meet the seven people who received Erin's organs. They know something about each of the recipients already, including a 12-year old boy from Massachusetts who'd been given 12 hours to live before Erin's lung saved him.
First Published: Dec 3, 2008 6:47 PM EDT
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