Prayer and the Gift of Life

By John Graham

Today I heard speakers sharing every aspect of LifeGift, an organization that provides organs and tissues for transplantation across Texas.  Among the speakers was the smiling man pictured — Jordan Merecka.  Jordan was born with a congenital heart problem and spent a year of his young life waiting for a heart transplant.  For six months he was kept alive with a mechanical heart.  He said in October, 2011 he had just about given up hope that he would receive a new heart.  At his moment of dispair, Jordan prayed that God would touch the heart of a family somewhere to release a heart that would be compatible with his body.  The very next morning he received a phone call

saying they had a compatible heart for him.  He said he awoke seeing a heart moniter showing his heart beating for the first time in six months (the mechnical heart doesn’t give off that signal).  He gave thanks to God, to the family that released his heart to him, to LifeGift for their work, and to the physicians, nurses, and staff of Texas Children’s Hospital where he received his transplant.  It was a beautiful story, told by a beautiful young man who now is in great health and is now attending college at Texas A&M-Galveston.   Jordan’s story makes me want to tell everyone to sign up to give their organs to GiftLife.  Why wouldn’t you want to help someone else life after you have died?  And, providing the gift of life to others is what our Institute is all about.