Denise Wagner, right, and Susan Adcock met for the first time in October, four months after Adcock received a transplanted heart donated after the death of Wagner's 24-year-old son, Jeremy Baran. Wagner and Adcock are among just 5 percent of organ donor families who actually meet the recipients of their loved ones' organs.
On Saturday, the two women and their families will gather for a joint Thanksgiving dinner to mourn the loss of Wagner’s 24-year-old son, Jeremy Baran, who died in June of a drug overdose — and to celebrate the life of Adcock, who received the young man’s heart.
“I prayed that those organs would go to people who were deserving of them,” says Wagner, 50, of Crofton, Md. “She’s such a kind, giving person. We had an instant bond.”
“God gave me Jeremy’s heart because he knew that I would help in her grieving,” says Adcock, 55, of York, Pa. “I have a piece of her love.”
Wagner and Adcock are an example of what organ transplant experts say is a small but growing phenomenon: Families of donors who form close ties with the recipients of their loved ones' organs.
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