FREDDY'S HEART RECEPIENT AND FREDDY'S MOM

MEETING FOR FIRST TIME

 The 37-year old veteran was first diagnosed with cardiomyopathy while still in the service. He was eventually placed on a list for a heart transplant. In July of 2007, Mike got the call. There was a heart available for him.   Eric Frederick's heart.

Nineteen year old Eric had been killed in a car accident. His family made the decision to donate his organs as well as tissue and bone.

For Mike Brown it meant a new lease on life.

"I'm one of thousands and thousands of people who were lucky and my life was changed," says Brown. "But not only did it change my life, it changed my little boy's life, it changed my family's life. It's not just one person that they're saving."

Deb Coons, Eric's mom, says while she will never have closure over the death of her only son, knowing that Eric helped so many people gives her some comfort.

"People have each other in life," she says, "but you have no idea what you can do in death and Eric has done something amazing in his death and that's a comfort to me."

On Saturday, January 26, Deb Coons met Mike Brown for the first time. She says organ donation has a face and she "wanted to meet that face." As it turned out, Mike lives just twelve miles from Eric's house in Scarborough--and when Eric played pee wee football, Mike was a coach in that league.

Mike Brown says saying thanks to Eric's family is not enough. But Deb Coons assured him that it was and always will be.

Both Mike and Deb hope that their story will prompt others in Maine to consider organ donation. There are more than ninety thousand people in the U.S. waiting for organ transplants.

According to Sean Fitzpatrick of the New England Organ Bank in Boston, more than six thousand people die every year waiting for a transplant.

"It's not from a lack of medical knowledge of how to cure them," says Fitzgerald, "it's not a matter of anything except the fact that there wasn't an organ available when they needed it most."

The best way to become an organ donor in Maine is to make that designation on your license when you renew it. That notation now has the force of law.

Its also a good idea to talk about your feelings about organ donation with your family so that they know your wishes.

For more information, contact the Maine Transplant Program at 207-871-2000.