95-Year-Old Becomes Oldest Organ Donor In History

95-Year-Old Organ Donor

The Lockhart Family

Last week, a woman received a liver transplant that saved her life. That’s thanks to Cecil Lockhart from Welch, West Virginia, the world’s oldest organ donor. Sadly, Lockhart passed away at 95-years-old on May 4. Thankfully, he had decided to be an organ donor. Afterward, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) posthumously thanked Lockhart for his selfless act. “CORE is incredibly proud to have been able to make this historic organ donation possible,” said CORE President & CEO Susan Stuart. “This landmark in the field of transplantation is just another example of CORE’s pioneering legacy and commitment to innovation, which, over the last 40 years, has given 6,000 people in the United States the opportunity to save more than 15,000 others as organ donors.”

Lockhart’s daughter, Sharon White, says that her father felt inspired by his son Stanley, who unfortunately passed away in 2010. After Stanley’s death, his organ, tissue, and cornea donations helped nearly 80 people! “When my brother was a donor after he passed away a few years ago, it helped my dad to heal,” said White. “Today, knowing his life is continuing through others really is helping us through our grief too.”

After Lockhart passed away and saved a woman’s life with his liver, friends and family came together to remember this great man.

Always A Loving Individual

Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock

From his time serving in World War II to his work as a coal miner, Cecil Lockhart always did his best to help those who needed it. “Anything he could do to help people he did. And this is just a way he’s continuing to help people after his time on Earth is finished,” Lockhart’s son-in-law, Bill Davis, said. “If we could all be that way, I think the world would be a little bit better place for us to be in.”

CORE hopes that Lockhart’s memory will also serve as a reminder that one is never too old to become an organ donor. “Every potential donor is evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the time of their death to determine which organs and tissue are suitable for donation,” said UNOS chief medical officer David Klassen. “Cecil’s generous and historic gift is a perfect example of that.” For those thinking of becoming an organ donor, know that every donation is incredibly important to those in need. Horribly, 17 people die each day in the United States while waiting for an organ transplant, with more than 100,000 waiting on lists. And do the math: one organ donor equals a heart, two lungs, a liver, pancreas, two kidneys, and intestines. That’s eight lives saved!

While CORE recommends registering as an organ donation officially, which doesn’t take long, you can also simply talk to your family. For more information, head over to the CORE website and speak to your doctor.