Daniel Indra
It’s been one of the saving graces that my husband and I have – knowing that our son is still alive, and he is alive in four people.
My name is Alissa Indra. I live in Monmouth, Oregon. And my son, Daniel, donated two kidneys, a liver, and a heart on September 22, 2014. He was eight years old.
I’ve always been a huge fan of organ donation. Since I was fifteen, I have had it on my license. Parents don’t always think about it…. I wish as a new parent, we would have had more information, more understanding, more warning that while this is not something you want to think about, it’s something that you need to think about. If your child dies, what is going to happen? What are you going to do?
That Saturday, I went to work. My husband went to a wedding. And Daniel went to his grandparents’. He was eight, full of energy, very outgoing and loving. He played soccer and baseball, and he loved building; he LOVED Legos. And that Saturday, he was really excited because he was going to hang out with Grandpa and help fix a hole in the floor of the second floor of my Dad’s barn. A bee came through the window and it scared Daniel. He fell through the hole – 18 feet – and had major head trauma.
The brain doctor came in and said, “There’s nothing we can do.” And I said, “I am very adamant about organ donation, so please, whatever you do, don’t ruin his chances to save someone else.”
We were able to give his heart, his liver, and two kidneys. Daniel saved four people. It’s been one of the saving graces that my husband and I have – knowing that our son is still alive, and he is alive in four people... to know that my son may not be here next to me, but I prevented another family from going through the same grief and the same pain I’m going through.