{"id":171153,"date":"2026-04-20T20:48:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/171153\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T20:48:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:48:06","slug":"donor-program-honors-parkland-graduate-garrett-nicholas-after-his-lifesaving-organ-donations-allentown-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/171153\/","title":{"rendered":"Donor program honors Parkland Graduate Garrett Nicholas after his lifesaving organ donations | Allentown Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – One week after Parkland High School graduate Garrett Nicholas tragically died after being struck by a car<\/a>, the Gift of Life Donor Program honored him and his family for their compassion and generosity, which helped save and heal lives through organ and tissue donation.<\/p>\n

Garrett, 21, was a junior at West Chester University, where he studied business management and supply chain management, according to a press release from the donor program.<\/p>\n

The release says he brought warmth, charisma, and deep care to everyone around him. His family, fraternity brothers at Pi Kappa Alpha, and friends remember him as someone universally loved, whose kindness left a lasting impact on everyone he met.<\/p>\n

Program officials say Garrett was a registered organ donor, a decision that reflects the selflessness that defined his life. Through organ donation, he saved three lives and will help heal up to 100 others through tissue donation.<\/p>\n

Fraternity brothers, students and friends will honor Garrett and advance his legacy as part of team #BeLikeGarrett at Gift of Life\u2019s 29th Annual Donor Dash on Sunday, April 26 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cGarrett\u2019s compassion didn\u2019t end with his life. It lives on in the people he saved,\u201d said his parents, Traci Conrad Hafner, Tavis Hafner, and Gary Nicholas, and Daisy Donis. \u201cThat\u2019s just who he was. He gave so freely, and his kindness reached far beyond himself. The pain of losing him is beyond words, and the space he leaves can never be filled. But knowing that he is still helping others gives us a sense of peace and purpose that we will hold onto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garrett\u2019s family expressed heartfelt gratitude to the teams at Paoli Hospital and Gift of Life for their empathy and support. They also recognized the many individuals who helped carry out Garrett\u2019s life-saving legacy, including first responders, physicians, nurses, clinical teams, chaplaincy, transplant surgeons, the Chester County Coroner\u2019s Office, and Gift of Life staff. These dedicated professionals used advanced organ preservation techniques and medical technologies to honor Garrett\u2019s legacy and make his donation possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always think of these superheroes as part of our family,\u201d his family shared. \u201cThey cared for our boy, for our family, for Garrett\u2019s friends, and held the futures of countless others in their hands. We will never forget that. They embodied the spirit of our sweet boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials say hundreds of family members, fraternity brothers, friends, and hospital staff gathered for an honor walk, lining the halls in silent tribute as Garrett made his final journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all my years, I\u2019ve never experienced an outpouring of support like what I saw with Garrett,\u201d said John Edwards, Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Gift of Life and a West Chester University graduate. \u201cI am especially in awe of the character of Garrett\u2019s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers. Their presence reflected loyalty, love, and lifelong connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garrett\u2019s loved ones encourage others to carry forward his spirit by sharing #BeLikeGarrett on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cLead with love, choose gratitude, and make every day count\u2014that\u2019s what he would want,\u201d his family said.<\/p>\n

Garrett Nicholas will be remembered not only for how he lived but for the lives he saved.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the Gift of Life Donor Program\u202fat donors1.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – One week after Parkland High School graduate Garrett Nicholas tragically died after being struck by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[76153,74434,76760,8589,12855,69,71,70,76762,76761,12916],"class_list":{"0":"post-171153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-donor-dash","9":"tag-garrett-nicholas","10":"tag-gift-of-life-donor-program","11":"tag-memorial","12":"tag-organ-donor","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","15":"tag-philadelphia-news","16":"tag-pi-kappa-alpha","17":"tag-tissue-donor","18":"tag-west-chester-university"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}