Extraordinary People:

David Kosman

Sharon Kosman, donor mother
Centre County

Our son, David, was a wonderful man and father to his three sons, Zachary, Conner, and Chase. He loved to do "guy" things with them, like going hunting and fishing.

But suddenly, on January 31, 2001, David suffered an aortic aneurysm while he and I were together at my house. David was rushed to the emergency room, but the doctors could not save his life. He died at the young age of 34.

Even though it was such an emotional and difficult time, the decision to donate David’s organs was an easy one for my family. Without even being asked, my husband told the doctor that David was a donor. We all knew David felt very strongly about organ and tissue donation. Besides being designated as an organ donor on his driver’s license, he had also talked openly with us about the issue.

Because David’s heart had already stopped beating, the doctors were not able to save his vital organs; however, the hospital staff moved very quickly to do what was necessary and in the end, David was able to donate his eyes, bone and tissue.

While we’ve never met any of the recipients, every now and then, I think to myself that someone is walking around with David’s pretty eyes. Someone has the gift of sight because of the decision he made.

We did have the opportunity to meet other donor families and transplant recipients at a ceremony hosted by Gift of Life Donor Program. It was a very moving experience because we were with people like us who had lost loved ones, and we were also with people whose lives had been saved because of donation all in the same room. It was unbelievable.

Today, five years later, we’re just beginning to realize that the biggest impact of David’s donation has been on his sons. At the time of his death, his three boys were very young: Zachary was eight and the twins, Chase and Conner, were six. We didn’t explain that their dad was an organ donor when he died because we didn’t think they would understand. But at a recent State College Spikes baseball game, which was hosted in memory of David and other organ donors, my grandsons had the opportunity to meet a woman who was a heart recipient. They were completely amazed that a person could actually live with someone else’s heart. At that moment, they truly realized what a wonderful thing it is to be an organ donor. They are so proud of their dad and the lives he saved.

As David always said, "When I’m gone, I don’t need this body anymore. But if someone else needs parts of it, then I want them to have them."

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