Lexington mom’s plea for organ donors is personal

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- A Lexington mom’s plea for organ donors is very personal. Sarah Gilbert says a heart transplant could have saved her little boy’s life.

Back in 1998, 16-month-old Jacob Gilbert was diagnosed with an incurable heart condition. His mom says he was on the transplant list for almost a year and a half. But the heart Jacob so desperately needed never came.

"It’s agonizing just knowing that there is a cure out there. It’s kind of dangling out in front of you, but there’s absolutely no way to get to it. The only way these families will get any help is through the goodness of other people’s hearts to donate," says Gilbert.

She says Jacob died in September 2012, just shy of his 5th birthday. Now Gilbert hopes to educate others about the importance of becoming an organ donor.

Members of the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates will be in the ABC 36 newsroom on Thursday, July 30. They will be taking calls to answer questions about becoming an organ donor. Call 859-294-6090 between 5pm- 6:30 p.m.