ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — An Altoona woman has become the oldest organ donor in Pennsylvania history and the oldest known female donor, having passed away at the age of 97.
Margaret “Peggy” Fields donated her liver to a woman in her 60s, who doctors say is doing well.
Peggy volunteered often for historical organizations across the Commonwealth, including Hanna’s House in Westmoreland County, Baker Mansion and Fort Roberdeau.
“She was always, always the volunteer. She seemed to have leadership qualities because she always end up being president of something,” Peggy’s daughter Linda Kirk said. “She was always outgoing, always volunteering. You need a helping hand? Yes, she was there.”
Now, the woman with a passion for history is a part of history herself.
“It’s like the pat on the back, you know, that she really needed for her whole life,” Kirk said.
It’s an act of kindness that organ donation advocacy groups say is a decision made never too late.
“You can still be 97 years old and still be able to help somebody have a second chance of life and be around with their family and friends and enjoy their hobbies, just like Peggy enjoyed her hobbies,” Jared Bedekovich of the Center for Organ Recovery & Donation said.
Peggy’s family made the trip from their homes in Florida the weekend of March 28 to honor and remember her memory.
“Her mother was born here. Her mother was a Stanley lady, and she knew everybody in Altoona. Then she was born here, and I was born here. So it’s just like she came back home, you know, after moving with my father’s job, she ended up back here. I tried to get her to move to Florida, and she wouldn’t,” Kirk said. “She was a leader, hunting knowledge and always giving.”
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