CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom, who was killed in the line of duty last week in Alamo, has given the gift of life through organ and tissue donation to four other individuals.
The results of that gift are that a 29-year-old mother from the Bay Area has received his left kidney and pancreas. The woman had been listed on the organ transplant waiting list for three years.
Officer Youngstrom’s other kidney was received by a 52-year-old female from the Bay Area who had been listed since 2002.
Receiving a lifesaving liver as the result of Officer Youngstrom was a 63-year-old woman from the Bay Area. No additional information is available about her.
A 50-year-old man, married with four children, received a new heart because of Officer Youngstrom’s wish. That recipient lives in Southern California.
During the surgery to recover Officer Youngstrom’s organs, operating room personnel and surgeons observed a moment of silence. A remembrance from his family was read in which they recalled a loving father and husband who "put God, his wife and his children first."
Shortly after that, the gifts of life from this 37-year-old "hero" were recovered for transplant. Out of respect for their privacy and their need to have their loved one's heal after receiving the gifts, no additional details will be provided about the recipients at this time.
According to Anthony Borders of the California Transplant Donor Network, about 40 percent of California drivers are registered organ donors and according to Borders, Youngstrom was one of those who had registered for organ donation.
The California Transplant Donor Network saves and improves lives by facilitating organ and tissue donation for transplantation. The California Transplant Donor Network helps 175 hospitals in 41 Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada Counties offer the option of organ and tissue donation to families whose loved ones have died, coordinates deceased organ recovery and placement and provides public education with the hope that every resident will become a donor. The California Transplant Donor Network is federally designated as the region’s organ recovery organization. For information visit www.ctdn.org
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