Oklahoma Girl's Donated Heart Bridges Generations

A painful decision to donate her daughter's organs left Vera Hines with many questions.  Seventeen years later, she's getting the answers she desperately needed.

Monday, September 26th 2011, 7:27 pm

By: News 9


Darren Brown, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY-- A painful decision to donate her daughter's organs left Vera Hines with many questions.  Seventeen years later, she's getting the answers she desperately needed.

Vera Hines' daughter Kayah was only 12 years old when she was hit by a car.  She died three weeks later on Thanksgiving day 1994.  

Hines always considered her daughter a giving person so she donated several of Kayah's organs to those in need.  But she needed to know more about the organ recipients so she sought answers through the Oklahoma Organ Sharing Network. 

The woman who received Kayah's heart responded with a heartfelt letter thanking Hines not long after that.  Through their brief correspondence Hines learned that the woman, whose name was Tina, had two sons.

"I learned that she had two kids," Hines said.  "And she was able to return back to school because of Kayah."

Tina died a few years ago, before the two women ever had a chance to talk, but Hines recently found out that Tina had a third child, a daughter who was born around the  same time that Tina received Kayah's heart. 

Hines reached out to her via social media, and the two have been messaging each other for two weeks.  They plan on meeting face to face soon, but for now Tina's daughter is a busy high school senior with little time.

Hines is not concerned about the timeline, she's just grateful for the chance to meet someone who she feels is a part of her daughter.

"I just feel like my daughter's gift that she gave that family, it still lives on," Hines said.

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