On January 16, 2006, Jeannie McGuire’s five-year-old son James passed away from complications following surgery five months earlier related to his severe cerebral palsy. James’ corneas saved the sight of one child, and his heart valves saved the life of another. “I would encourage everyone to donate organs,” says Jeannie. “It’s one of the small ways to find something positive in such a tragic situation.”

Jeannie & James's Story

On January 16, 2006, five-year old James McGuire passed away. While the immediate cause was pneumonia, the little boy had severe cerebral palsy and had never recovered from orthopedic surgery conducted five months earlier.

“So there we sat in the hospital room with our son in our arms. He had just taken his last breath – the most gut-wrenching thing a parent can experience,” said James’s mother, 36-year old Jeannie McGuire. “But in a very respectful, gentle way, the hospital chaplain was able to console us and talk to us about organ donation at the same time. It was a very difficult decision for me. There my son lay in my husband’s arms, and I did not want anyone to touch him. I did not want anyone to take any part of him. I wanted his little five-year old body to remain pure. But the chaplain explained that because James was so young, his heart valves and corneas would make ideal candidates for donation.”

After careful consideration, the McGuires decided to go ahead. During the days following that decision, she recalled she “felt very uneasy about his body being altered and things being taken from him.”

But, on the afternoon of his funeral, the McGuires learned that their son’s corneas saved the sight of one child, and his heart valves saved the life of another.

“It was at that moment that I knew we had done the right thing,” said Jeannie. “This was such a difficult and tragic experience for us, but it’s nice to know that we saved a life and helped a family avoid going through what we have gone through. I would encourage everyone to donate organs. It’s one of the small ways to find something positive in such a tragic situation.”