A Port St. Lucie family is turning unimaginable loss into hope after choosing organ donation following the death of their 14-year-old son, who was struck by a vehicle while walking to school, according to police.<\/p>\n
Port St. Lucie police said the teen was walking along Port St. Lucie Boulevard near Squirrel Avenue on Oct. 7 when he was struck from behind. He died from his injuries two days later.<\/p>\n
Now, the family\u2019s decision to donate his organs could help multiple people waiting for lifesaving transplants while creating a lasting legacy in his memory.<\/p>\n
Organ donation advocates say the family\u2019s choice highlights an ongoing need for registered donors. According to transplant advocates, more than 100,000 people nationwide are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and 15 lives are lost each day while patients remain on waiting lists.<\/p>\n
Family\u2019s decision offers hope to others<\/p>\n
The teen\u2019s family chose organ donation in the days following his death, a decision supporters say can have a profound impact on recipients and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a courageous thing for them to do, and I think it\u2019s the right thing,\u201d said St. Lucie County Tax Collector Chris Craft.<\/p>\n
Craft has worked with Donate Life Florida through the tax collector\u2019s office to encourage organ donor registration and raise awareness about the need for donors.<\/p>\n
Transplant recipient shares personal perspective<\/p>\n
For Tyre Gray, a kidney transplant recipient and the chief administrative and legal officer for South Florida Donor Network, the family\u2019s decision carries special meaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrgan donation is one of the few places where grief and gratitude exist in the same place,\u201d Gray told WPTV.<\/p>\n
Gray said he spent five years waiting for a kidney transplant before receiving the life-saving organ he needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know for a fact that I wouldn\u2019t be here without a family making that election in their deepest moment of despair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gray described years of uncertainty while waiting for a match.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s five years of uncertainty, five years of being paralyzed, five years of not being able to grow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The need for organ donors remains high<\/p>\n
Organ donation advocates say the need for donors continues across Florida and the United States.<\/p>\n
Gray noted that a single donor has the potential to save multiple lives and help many more patients through tissue donation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne donor is to save upwards of nine lives and to be able to heal another 75 lives,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n
Behind those numbers are people awaiting a second chance, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s all be heroes and save lives,\u201d Gray added.<\/p>\n
A legacy that continues<\/p>\n
Advocates say organ donation often allows families to find meaning during some of life\u2019s most difficult moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would hope that they could see the lasting impact that a selfless act can make on others,\u201d Craft said. \u201cIf you can help somebody else, it\u2019s an amazing thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For transplant recipients, organ donation can mean more time with family, additional milestones and opportunities.<\/p>\n
In the midst of tragedy, one Port St. Lucie family\u2019s decision could now help save lives and ensure their son\u2019s legacy continues through the people he may help.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Port St. Lucie family is turning unimaginable loss into hope after choosing organ donation following the death…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-432260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}