At five weeks of age, Michael Corea was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare liver disease that is often fatal. But surgery allowed him to grow and thrive. Eventually, he outgrew his cirrhotic liver and was put on the waiting list at age 11. At age 13 he had a successful liver transplant and flourished.

Michael, a Finance major, was accepted to attend Law School at Capital University after graduating from Ohio State University. Six days before his graduation from Ohio State, he called his family and said he was “on top of the world.” After enjoying his favorite meal, he then went for a motorcycle ride and was in a fatal accident.

Afterwards, his sister Jessica requested his diploma. “I wanted him to die a graduate,” she said. Mike’s desire to be an organ donor resulted in life gifts of heart, lungs, corneas, lungs, skin, tendons, ligaments, and long bones.

Mike Corea is one of the very few people in the U.S. to be both an organ recipient and an organ donor.