Arlinda Griffin (left) and Mary Smith met through Gift of Life after Smith’s son died and donated a kidney and pancreas to Griffin.
Courtesy of Ed Hille, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
As Arlinda Griffin stood alone on stage, singing a gospel hymn, and Mary Smith sat in the audience, fighting to hold back tears, no one could have guessed at the bond between them.
Griffin is a 37-year-old former security guard supervisor from North Philadelphia, her eyesight all but destroyed by diabetes. Smith, 59, is an insurance agency owner from Warminster who befriended Griffin five years ago. She had driven Griffin to the singing contest last July at First District Plaza in West Philadelphia.
What brought these women together is deep inside Griffin: a donated pancreas and kidney from Smith’s son, Eric, who died in a car accident.
The women exchanged letters and eventually met through a Gift of Life program that allows organ donor recipients and donor families to contact each other if both parties are willing.
The women regularly phone each other, have lunch, and go on errands together. “Knowing what a great person she is helps me deal with my grief,” Smith said.
Lara Moretti, who supervises the program for Gift of Life, the coordinating network for organ and tissue transplants in this region, says that it has been ongoing for at least 20 years. She reviews some 75 to 100 letters a month; the agency asks participants to exchange letters for a year before meeting in person.