Devastated parents signed papers to donate brain-dead son's organs — a 'miracle' just before doctors pulled the plug saved the kid
Organ donation is a bittersweet decision loved ones take when their family member has no chance at survival. In order to make the decision, loved ones have to come to terms with the fact that the person won’t make it. After accepting the heartbreaking truth, organ donation becomes a way to honor a life and let the person live on. Jennifer Reindl, mother of 13-year-old Trenton McKinley from Alabama, hoped to let her son live on by deciding to donate his organs, per CBS News. While the parents and loved ones were preparing to accept and let go of Trenton, something unusually life-altering happened.
The teenage boy met with a tragic accident while riding his utility trailer. He suffered seven skull fractures and hope was bleak. His parents were told that the boy would never be the same again. The mom mentioned that he was practically “dead” on the hospital table for 15 minutes, per BBC News. With the heartbreaking news, the mom was also informed that the boy’s organs were a match for 5 other kids and she decided to donate his organs. "We said yes, that also ensured that they would continue to keep Trenton alive to clean his organs for the donation,” the mom noted.
According to the UNOS, 105,734 people were on the waiting list for organ donation at the time of writing. The numbers are increasing regularly. Unfortunately, as of 2024, the number of organ donors decreased by 17,000. The average waiting time for organs like a heart is around 4 months and other organs like the pancreas go up to 2 years or more, per the Donor Network. "A man from UAB organ donation came and talked to us in the family conference room about donating five organs to UAB Children's Hospital that would save five other children. We said yes," Reindl recalled. With less than 1% of donors being able to get matched with a patient, it was the only sensible decision the mom could take.
The mom hoped that there would be some miracle and her son would make it, but it was just a wish every grieving parent had. Trenton had to have one last brain test so doctors could note the time of death. There, the unimaginable happened. "The next day, he was scheduled to have his final brain wave test to call his time of death, but his vitals spiked so they canceled the test," the mom explained.
An unfathomable moment for doctors, Reindl and Trenton, too, but it meant the one thing the mom had been praying hard for — her son was alive again. The boy went on to recover slowly, requiring surgery and other medication. The family credits the event as a miracle. Even Trenton recalled an unusual happening at the time he was fighting for his life. "I was in an open field walking straight. There's no other explanation but God. There's no other way. Even the doctors said it,” he said. The mom added, “From no brain waves to now walking and talking and reading, doing math. A miracle.”