As Karla Vuksan sat beside her daughter Marla's hospital bed and prepared to say goodbye, she asked her for some sort of sign. The answer to her request, she says, came in the form of gifts of life to others.
Marla Vuksan, 12, of Cambridge, fell from a hammock just before Thanksgiving and bumped her head while on a visit to Cancun, Mexico. She was rushed to a doctor, her family told WBZ, where she took a turn for the worst. In just 15 minutes, the pre-teen, who her family described as having a big personality, approached the end of her life.
Karla Vuksan asked her daughter for some sort of sign, and Vuksan then fell asleep for about 15 minutes. When she awoke, the first thing she thought of was donating her daughter's organs. Marla was transported to Boston Children's Hospital, where she made her life-saving gifts on Thanksgiving — seven organs went to six different recipients.
"The magic of Thanksgiving. It was just so Marla," Vuksan told WBZ.
The number of organs Marla was able to donate is unusual.
"It's not typical," Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services, told Boston.com in a recent phone interview.
Usually, that number is between three and four, she said.
What's also special about Marla's gifts is that at least one of her organs went to a child patient, Glazier said. She noted that pediatric donors, thankfully, are "unusual" — there's only about 1,000 annually nationwide. But the need is still "critically important." There are 2,500 pediatric transplants annually.
"For some organs, the size really matters," Glazier said. "And so a pediatric donor is needed for a pediatric patient. That's not true for all organs, but it's definitely true for some."
For the Vuksans, Marla's final gifts to others have helped them cope with their loss, they told WBZ.
"That's her legacy," Mario Vuksan, Marla's father, told the news station. "And this is why this is really helping us to move forward, it's helping our boys to move forward, knowing that their sister is a hero."
Glazier described the feelings that come out of organ donation — the tragedy and grief coupled with "renewed hope."
"Donation really is a great act of compassion and creates that profound legacy through gifts that are given by the donor and the donor's family," she said. "But it comes out of a moment of grief, and the fact that families are willing to give to people they don't know but know are in need is really a beautiful part of what we see in organ donation and transplantation."
While much work has been done to increase the number of those signed up to be organ donors, both in New England and throughout the country, Glazier noted that there is still much of a need. There are plenty of people waiting and, sadly, those who die waiting for a transplant. Anyone interested in signing up to become a donor can visit registerme.org.
"Even in a moment like the pandemic that we are living through, an extreme public health emergency, we find that families are more willing than ever, really, to donate and to really rise to that occasion of helping others," Glazier said. "That's a pretty profound thing to experience."
Marla Vuksan, 12, of Cambridge, fell from a hammock just before Thanksgiving and bumped her head while on a visit to Cancun, Mexico. She was rushed to a doctor, her family told WBZ, where she took a turn for the worst. In just 15 minutes, the pre-teen, who her family described as having a big personality, approached the end of her life.
Karla Vuksan asked her daughter for some sort of sign, and Vuksan then fell asleep for about 15 minutes. When she awoke, the first thing she thought of was donating her daughter's organs. Marla was transported to Boston Children's Hospital, where she made her life-saving gifts on Thanksgiving — seven organs went to six different recipients.
"The magic of Thanksgiving. It was just so Marla," Vuksan told WBZ.
The number of organs Marla was able to donate is unusual.
"It's not typical," Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services, told Boston.com in a recent phone interview.
Usually, that number is between three and four, she said.
What's also special about Marla's gifts is that at least one of her organs went to a child patient, Glazier said. She noted that pediatric donors, thankfully, are "unusual" — there's only about 1,000 annually nationwide. But the need is still "critically important." There are 2,500 pediatric transplants annually.
"For some organs, the size really matters," Glazier said. "And so a pediatric donor is needed for a pediatric patient. That's not true for all organs, but it's definitely true for some."
For the Vuksans, Marla's final gifts to others have helped them cope with their loss, they told WBZ.
"That's her legacy," Mario Vuksan, Marla's father, told the news station. "And this is why this is really helping us to move forward, it's helping our boys to move forward, knowing that their sister is a hero."
Glazier described the feelings that come out of organ donation — the tragedy and grief coupled with "renewed hope."
"Donation really is a great act of compassion and creates that profound legacy through gifts that are given by the donor and the donor's family," she said. "But it comes out of a moment of grief, and the fact that families are willing to give to people they don't know but know are in need is really a beautiful part of what we see in organ donation and transplantation."
While much work has been done to increase the number of those signed up to be organ donors, both in New England and throughout the country, Glazier noted that there is still much of a need. There are plenty of people waiting and, sadly, those who die waiting for a transplant. Anyone interested in signing up to become a donor can visit registerme.org.
"Even in a moment like the pandemic that we are living through, an extreme public health emergency, we find that families are more willing than ever, really, to donate and to really rise to that occasion of helping others," Glazier said. "That's a pretty profound thing to experience."
As Karla Vuksan sat beside her daughter Marla's hospital bed and prepared to say goodbye, she asked her for some sort of sign. The answer to her request, she says, came in the form of gifts of life to others.
Marla Vuksan, 12, of Cambridge, fell from a hammock just before Thanksgiving and bumped her head while on a visit to Cancun, Mexico. She was rushed to a doctor, her family told WBZ, where she took a turn for the worst. In just 15 minutes, the pre-teen, who her family described as having a big personality, approached the end of her life.
Karla Vuksan asked her daughter for some sort of sign, and Vuksan then fell asleep for about 15 minutes. When she awoke, the first thing she thought of was donating her daughter's organs. Marla was transported to Boston Children's Hospital, where she made her life-saving gifts on Thanksgiving — seven organs went to six different recipients.
"The magic of Thanksgiving. It was just so Marla," Vuksan told WBZ.
The number of organs Marla was able to donate is unusual.
"It's not typical," Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services, told Boston.com in a recent phone interview.
Usually, that number is between three and four, she said.
What's also special about Marla's gifts is that at least one of her organs went to a child patient, Glazier said. She noted that pediatric donors, thankfully, are "unusual" — there's only about 1,000 annually nationwide. But the need is still "critically important." There are 2,500 pediatric transplants annually.
"For some organs, the size really matters," Glazier said. "And so a pediatric donor is needed for a pediatric patient. That's not true for all organs, but it's definitely true for some."
For the Vuksans, Marla's final gifts to others have helped them cope with their loss, they told WBZ.
"That's her legacy," Mario Vuksan, Marla's father, told the news station. "And this is why this is really helping us to move forward, it's helping our boys to move forward, knowing that their sister is a hero."
Glazier described the feelings that come out of organ donation — the tragedy and grief coupled with "renewed hope."
"Donation really is a great act of compassion and creates that profound legacy through gifts that are given by the donor and the donor's family," she said. "But it comes out of a moment of grief, and the fact that families are willing to give to people they don't know but know are in need is really a beautiful part of what we see in organ donation and transplantation."
While much work has been done to increase the number of those signed up to be organ donors, both in New England and throughout the country, Glazier noted that there is still much of a need. There are plenty of people waiting and, sadly, those who die waiting for a transplant. Anyone interested in signing up to become a donor can visit registerme.org.
"Even in a moment like the pandemic that we are living through, an extreme public health emergency, we find that families are more willing than ever, really, to donate and to really rise to that occasion of helping others," Glazier said. "That's a pretty profound thing to experience."
Marla Vuksan, 12, of Cambridge, fell from a hammock just before Thanksgiving and bumped her head while on a visit to Cancun, Mexico. She was rushed to a doctor, her family told WBZ, where she took a turn for the worst. In just 15 minutes, the pre-teen, who her family described as having a big personality, approached the end of her life.
Karla Vuksan asked her daughter for some sort of sign, and Vuksan then fell asleep for about 15 minutes. When she awoke, the first thing she thought of was donating her daughter's organs. Marla was transported to Boston Children's Hospital, where she made her life-saving gifts on Thanksgiving — seven organs went to six different recipients.
"The magic of Thanksgiving. It was just so Marla," Vuksan told WBZ.
The number of organs Marla was able to donate is unusual.
"It's not typical," Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services, told Boston.com in a recent phone interview.
Usually, that number is between three and four, she said.
What's also special about Marla's gifts is that at least one of her organs went to a child patient, Glazier said. She noted that pediatric donors, thankfully, are "unusual" — there's only about 1,000 annually nationwide. But the need is still "critically important." There are 2,500 pediatric transplants annually.
"For some organs, the size really matters," Glazier said. "And so a pediatric donor is needed for a pediatric patient. That's not true for all organs, but it's definitely true for some."
For the Vuksans, Marla's final gifts to others have helped them cope with their loss, they told WBZ.
"That's her legacy," Mario Vuksan, Marla's father, told the news station. "And this is why this is really helping us to move forward, it's helping our boys to move forward, knowing that their sister is a hero."
Glazier described the feelings that come out of organ donation — the tragedy and grief coupled with "renewed hope."
"Donation really is a great act of compassion and creates that profound legacy through gifts that are given by the donor and the donor's family," she said. "But it comes out of a moment of grief, and the fact that families are willing to give to people they don't know but know are in need is really a beautiful part of what we see in organ donation and transplantation."
While much work has been done to increase the number of those signed up to be organ donors, both in New England and throughout the country, Glazier noted that there is still much of a need. There are plenty of people waiting and, sadly, those who die waiting for a transplant. Anyone interested in signing up to become a donor can visit registerme.org.
"Even in a moment like the pandemic that we are living through, an extreme public health emergency, we find that families are more willing than ever, really, to donate and to really rise to that occasion of helping others," Glazier said. "That's a pretty profound thing to experience."
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