Irene Atencio, her twin sister Mia and their family immigrated from the Philippines in 1985. Twenty-five years later, in January 2010, Mia’s migraine headaches led to a diagnosis of a blood clot, and possibly an aneurysm, in her brain. During the following week, Mia lost all cognitive functioning, and the family made the decision to let her go and honor her donation decision. During this time, Irene injured her right knee. Informed that she would need tissue from a deceased donor heal her injury, Irene initiated a process that resulted in Mia’s tendon being used to repair Irene’s ACL. “Now I will have a part of her inside me forever.”

Irene's Story

Irene Atencio and her twin sister Mia were born in Manila, Philippines, to Adriano Atencio, a scientist and Nenita Atencio, a school principal. In 1985, right before the end of the Marcos regime, the entire family, including younger brothers Ivan and Ian, immigrated to the U.S.

Upon moving to Los Angeles, the sisters got their driver’s licenses. “That’s when we found out about organ donation,” said Irene, 43, now an IT support administrator. “It was so easy to sign up through the DMV. My sister and I decided to be organ donors and I didn’t think about it again after that.”

In January 2010, Mia complained of migraine headaches. She postponed going to the doctor, but finally went to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a blood clot in her brain, possibly an aneurysm. During the following week, Mia had several surgeries, but then lost all cognitive functioning in her brain. “We had to make a decision to let her go because I knew she did not want to live as a vegetable for the rest of her life,” recalled Irene. “It was the most difficult decision we had to make. I was full of guilt, shame, sadness and loss.

“While my sister was dying, I injured my right knee. I didn’t think much about it until I went to my doctor,” said Irene. “He told me that in order to fix my knee, he would need tissue from a deceased donor to reconstruct the ACL. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, is it possible to use my sister’s tissue to repair my knee?

“I got in touch with OneLegacy, the organization that took care of my sister’s tissue donation. It took three months to get everything in order, but I had my ACL repaired using my sister’s tendon. I can’t believe that I now have a part of my sister in my right knee, growing as part of my own bone. Now I will have a part of her inside me forever. I am so thankful and honored to have this gift from her.”