Donating A Kidney to A Familiar Stranger

It was a hard time for Terri Harrington to lose her husband in an accident and then donate his organs to complete strangers, but she had no choice because that’s what Bryan wanted.

Marta Design/Shutterstock: Organ donation in the US

With a strong heart, Terri agreed to comply with his wishes. After his death, four people were granted the gift of life, thanks to a simple decision of organ donation. Jeff Granger was one of those lucky survivors who got a new chance at living, and this is where the connection between Harringtons and Grangers began.

Terri and Jeff’s paths crossed long before they met in 2004, but due to restrictions by the LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services, the receiver had to stay anonymous for at least a year.

Jeff and his wife wanted to console the family of their savior, but there was no way to keep in touch with them besides sending occasional holiday cards and thank you letters.

These grateful people didn’t know that Terri and her two sons, Drake and Payton, were finally able to heal themselves because of the consistent efforts of the person who received Bryan’s pancreas and kidney.

After the one-year cool-off period was over, Terri happily contacted Jeff, and they had a long conversation. A strong link between the two families started to develop, which aided in the healing process for the grieving widow and her children.

For more than a decade, Jeff and Terri stayed in touch despite living in two different cities and enjoyed a special family bond that is hard to find.

Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock: Anonymous organ donation saved two families

But fifteen years after the surgery, Jeff started having problems with Bryan’s kidney—it was failing, and he had to go on the list again.

When he mentioned this to Terri, without any hesitation, she volunteered herself as a donor.

Jeff thought she was only joking, but when the single mother put herself on the list for potential donors, he realized how serious this was. He tried to convince her that she might need it in the future, but Terri’s reply was, ‘What if I don’t?’

Her determination silenced Jeff, who knew how strong she was as a mother and an independent woman.

Jeff felt indebted to this family and had no idea how he’d repay Terri’s generosity. For him, Harringtons were giving him the gift of life again, and it was no short of a miracle!

The transplant surgery was supposed to take place in November 2019, but Jeff had pneumonia, so it was postponed.

Pressmaster/Shutterstock: Kidney donation to the same person

And finally, in March 2020, Terri successfully donated her kidney to a life-long friend who already had her husband’s organs. For the widow, it’s like being back together with her husband in a way.

The bond between these two families is unique and won’t be broken so easily, given what they have been through in the past two decades with Bryan’s passing and Jeff’s surgeries.