KINGSTON — After Christa Michalek got pregnant the summer prior to her freshman year of high school, she questioned the reason why. Her parents assured her the child was a gift from God.
When Michalek’s son was killed in a car crash several month ago at age 21, she again found herself questioning why. She reasoned that, as an organ donor proponent, he was designated by God to provide the gift of life.
Casey Michalek’s heart now beats inside a woman in her 50s. His liver and right kidney keep alive a woman in her 60s. Casey’s left kidney went to a woman in her 30s.
“I know that was his purpose — to save those people. I feel like everyone has a purpose in life. Once it is fulfilled, God takes you,” Michalek, 36, said recently from the family homestead in Kingston, Luzerne County. “These people, they were on their death beds and thinking 100 percent they were going to die. I feel so comforted that his organs are still living and he’s not completely dead.”
In the months since the October crash, Casey’s family members have become vocal advocates for organ donation through the Gift of Life Donor Program, which serves Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware.
Casey’s donation helped Gift of Life set a national record last year for the most donors of any organization in the United States. Gift of Life’s 540 donors in 2016 translated into more than 1,400 life-saving transplants.
“To me, every person who signs up to be an organ donor should be considered a hero. Casey saved three lives,” said Gift of Life CEO Howard M. Nathan. “There’s nothing more sacred than saving somebody else’s life.”
Leaders of the Gift of Life program and members of Casey’s family are encouraging people to register as organ donors.