April 16, 1999

On Feb. 1, 1997, the lives of the Holtz family changed forever. Jane and her husband Jerry's 35-year-old daughter, Keren, was struck by a drunk driver while bicycling near Portland, Ore. She was declared brain dead, and the Holtzes were faced with an important question – should they donate Keren's organs?

Jane Holtz is vice president for MGH Neurosciences and Pediatrics and has been at the hospital for 23 years. As an administrator with the departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, she knows about brain death. She had been involved with developing the Harvard guidelines that set the criteria for brain death. But, she says, "the disconnect between an intellectual understanding of brain death and emotional acceptance is enormous. This was our daughter. We just weren't ready to let go of her."

Even though they had never discussed organ donation with their daughter, to donate was the immediate reaction of Jane, Jerry and their three sons. "Keren's death was senseless, and we could do nothing to change that," says Jane. "But we could give others the opportunity to continue their lives."

Working with Keren's caregivers and the representative from the Pacific Northwest Transplant Bank, Jane says, made the process easier for the whole family. "We were asked in a most compassionate and sensitive way to consider donation," she says.

The Holtzes later received a letter from the organ bank that six people were able to live because of Keren's organs. Collectively, the recipients had nine children who were spared the loss of their mother or father. In addition, two people regained their sight.

Jane now has become an advocate for organ donation, participating in grand rounds with Kris Frank, RN, CCRN, donor coordinator from the New England Organ Bank. "Keren's senseless accident came out of the blue, and we will be dealing with our loss forever," she says. "But my commitment to promoting organ donation provides me with a sense of continuity that is meaningful and the only positive element in an otherwise overwhelming family tragedy."

See "A critical need for organ donation," in this issue, for more about organ donation.