{"id":171528,"date":"2026-04-21T05:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/171528\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T05:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:20:13","slug":"gift-of-life-parkland-grads-organ-and-tissue-donations-saved-3-lives-expected-to-help-more-than-100-people-allentown-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/171528\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift of life: Parkland grad\u2019s organ and tissue donations saved 3 lives, expected to help more than 100 people | 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

Nicholas, 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

“Garrett was able to save three lives through his liver and kidney donation. He’ll impact over 100 lives with his tissue donation,” John Edwards, senior vice president of clinical operations at the Gift of Life Program, explained.<\/p>\n

Right now, more than 100,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ nationwide. In our region, 4,500 people are on the transplant list.<\/p>\n

Edwards recalled the moment more than 100 West Chester University students and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity members gathered at Paoli Hospital at 2 a.m.<\/p>\n

“What a testament to the young man. The fact that all of his family, all of his friends, anyone who’d come into contact with him echoed the same sentiment and that was that he was truly the light in the room,” said Edwards. “They lined the hallways as he was taken to the operating room to be present for their friend.\u201d<\/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

“I think that one thing that was important for his parents was this #BeLikeGarrett. It wasn’t only the fact that he saved lives, it was the fact that he brought kindness into the world as well,” Edwards said.<\/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

\"Gift<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nicholas\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 the young man\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 Nicholas\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

\u201cIn all my years, I\u2019ve never experienced an outpouring of support like what I saw with Garrett,\u201d said Edwards. \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

Nicholas\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

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":171529,"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-171528","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\/171528","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=171528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}