Our son, Grayson Moser, was a witty and creative kid who loved music and loved to be around people. He was so happy and full of life and was an intelligent left-hander who enjoyed playing golf, percussion, chess, Scrabble, and Minecraft. Our hearts were forever broken when he died from pediatric brain cancer in 2021 at the age of 16. He wanted to be an organ donor and registered to be one on his learner’s permit. (My husband and I are also registered organ donors and had explained to him what that meant. Our philosophy is, “Why not donate your organs upon your death? You won’t need them in Heaven and you can help save lives and improve quality of life for others in need.”) Sadly, Grayson’s brain cancer caused many neurological deficits, including significant vision loss. When he was at the hospital, and it became apparent he was at end of life, we shared his wishes to be an organ donor with his medical team. We were told because he had cancer and had received chemo treatments, he could donate only his corneas. Grayson’s post-mortem tissue donation ended up giving the gift of eyesight to two different patients in need. What a beautiful and ironic gift—he had lost significant vision, but his corneas were perfect and gave restored vision for two different patients! We were also able to donate his brain tumors to Gift from a Child for research to help scientists learn more about pediatric brain tumors in hopes of finding a cure. Tissue donation can make a big impact, just like organ donation.
