Tremetrius Barnes' family has known the power of organ donation for 25 years, and on Wednesday, Barnes had a special reunion with another Memphis woman who has experienced that power firsthand.
Ebony Jordan had been on dialysis for nearly 30 years when Burns' son, Reggie Smith, died in a car accident in the summer of 2018.
Burns said Jordan represents “Reggie's legacy” and since she has no grandchildren, she wants to stay in touch with all the people he helped after his death. It's a long list — after Smith died on June 8, 2018, his organs went into the hands of 67 different people — “from the top of his head to the soles of his feet,” and dozens more. Burns said it changed his life.
Check out the alumni reunion here
Burns himself received a kidney transplant in 1999, and six years later, one of his sons, Artavius ”Tay” Vesey, received a life-saving kidney from his father, Archie.
So when Burns' other son, Smith, died in a car accident in 2018, his organs were used to save several lives.
Jordan, who has been a dialysis patient since the late 1990s, was one of them.
Jordan was able to meet Barnes and Reggie's younger brother Wednesday at a special reunion held on what would have been Smith's 31st birthday.
Jordan said if he could talk to Smith now, this is what he would say. [the kidney]And we will continue to do so.
What you need to know about organ donation
- According to LifeCenter Northwest, a nonprofit organization focused on saving lives through organ and tissue donation, less than 1% of deaths qualify for organ donation.
- There are more than 100,000 people on the nationwide transplant waiting list waiting for life-saving organ transplants. Most people are waiting for a kidney transplant.
- On average, 22 people die every day while waiting.
- One organ donor can save up to eight lives by donating a kidney, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, or intestines.
For detailed instructions, please refer to To donate a life-saving organ to someone else, visit organdonor.gov.
