Interview with Heidi Black: Carter’s Organ Donation Saved Three Lives, Family Receives Letter From Kidney Recipient

Two months after 14-year-old Carter Black was killed in Salina, his family is sharing how his final gift helped save other lives.

According to his mother, Heidi Black, Carter’s organs were donated after it became clear he could not be saved. She said he was kept on life support for approximately 24 hours so doctors could complete the transplant process.

“When I arrived at the ER, it was made clear he was gone. There was no saving him.”

She said she stayed with him during that time while various transplant teams traveled to Wichita so the donation could take place.

“A few close friends and cousins and I sat there with him for 24 hours, waiting for the teams to get to Wichita so we could make his gifts of donation happen,” she said. “The amazing doctors and nurses at Wesley kept him alive for 24 hours for organ donation. Carter was such a fighter. He amazed us all.”

Heidi said Carter’s heart and lungs were too badly damaged to be donated, but three organs were able to help others: both kidneys and his liver.

Now, two months later, the family has received word that one of those donations directly changed another life, and Heidi said she received a typed letter through the transplant organization from a woman who explained that she had a birth defect and that Carter’s kidney was her last hope.

Heidi said the woman wrote that she was thankful and hoped the family was doing well, and that she now has the option to write back and tell the recipient about Carter.

“She let us know about a birth defect, and his kidney was her last hope,” Heidi said, describing the letter. “She’s been thinking about us a lot lately and offered her condolences and hopes we are ok. She can tell a difference already in how she feels and is excited to think of her renewed future. She’s extremely thankful for Carter’s gift.”

If she does write back, Heidi said she would want the recipient to know who Carter was beyond the tragedy.

“Let her know about Carter, 14-year-old, great big and little brother, and an awesome wrestler and fisherman, who had an amazing smile and lived to make people laugh,” she said.

In reflecting on the loss and the decision to donate, Heidi said she has tried to find purpose in what happened.

“Beauty can come from tragedy,” she said. “Nothing about what happened to my son will ever be ok, but I had an option to make something wonderful come from it, so it wasn’t all in vain. I couldn’t let his death be for nothing.”

She also said the response from others has shown her just how far Carter’s life reached.

“I loved him, and I knew he was special,” Heidi said. “I had no idea how many people were connected to me through him.”