Organ donation

On September 26, an accident at the intersection of William Nicol Drive and Fourways Boulevard, left Jacques Jones (32) from Alberton North with injuries that he would never recover from. His mother, Patricia Van Aardt, was given the difficult decision of choosing whether or not to let doctors harvest his organs. Time was of the essence, so if she allowed this, she would only be able to spend five final minutes with her son. Patricia, in spite of the pain she felt, gave the go-ahead. A 33-year-old man, who was on the urgent listing, received Jacques’ heart, and was back home within a week. The liver went to a 26-year-old with liver failure. One of Jacques’ kidneys went to an eight-year-old boy, while the other kidney, as well as his pancreas, went to a 47-year-old diabetic mother of two (who since the transplant hasn’t required insulin). Two young patients also received Jacques’ two corneas. All of the transplants were a success. Patrica shared this letter from the mother of the heart recipient: “Today I am thinking of you and the team of the Netcare Transplant Centre, but most of all, I know that there is another mother crying for the loss of her son. I want her to know that she is an outstanding, wonderful person and because of the sacrifice she made, my son now lives. He can now enjoy his family, do a full day’s work and normal activities. I want to thank her for this massive gift she has given..the gift of life.” Patricia would like to encourage everyone to become organ donors, as it will not only save many lives and improve recipients’ quality of life, but also greatly change the lives of the families and friends that would benefit from the transplants. Patricia asks that those who do join the donor list, also join the Facebook page, Percy 1979, dedicated to her son and his gift.