When 23-year-old Dalton Magwood passed away, his mother Haley was devastated – but she carried a rare and powerful comfort: Dalton had shared his selfless decision to become an organ and tissue donor upon his death. A decision that turned unimaginable loss into hope for others.
“One day he said he was going to be a [an organ] donor,” Haley recalled. “And because I’m a diabetic, he said, ‘Mom, you need to be a donor too if you can.’ He just loved to help people.”
Dalton regularly donated blood and plasma—his rare blood type made his generosity even more valuable. And after his untimely death in a motorcycle accident, his tissue and organs went on to save and heal others: his kidneys were given to two individuals in need, a cornea restored someone’s vision in Maryland, and more than 309 tissue grafts were prepared to transform lives when they’re needed.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Dalton’s legacy is this: the tissue he donated will go on to now heal his own mother.
In 2016, Haley was diagnosed with cubital tunnel syndrome, a painful nerve condition in her elbow. She held off surgery for years, until the pain became unbearable. When her orthopedic surgeon said she needed graft to repair the damage, she didn’t think much of it, until her husband asked a question.
“He asked what a graft was, Haley said. “After I explained it, he said, ‘what about getting Dalton’s graft?’ I instantly started crying. Because he’s 50% me, so why wouldn’t it work? If I had to get a donor graft, this would be better than anyone else. He has my DNA.”
She contacted Gift of Life Michigan to see if it would be possible to receive Dalton’s graft. Because Dalton passed away in 2021, she wasn’t sure if the tissues were still usable. The family support team at Gift of Life informed her that tissues are usable up to five years after recovery and helped connect her medical team with CellRight Technologies, the organization that processed his grafts.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Haley said. “They spoke to my doctor, Dr. Wilcox, and I’m getting his tissue for my surgery in June.”
The significance of receiving her own son’s donated tissue is not lost on Haley. “It brings a whole new meaning that I have a piece of my kid,” she said. “I’m physically going to have a piece of him. My husband said, ‘It’s funny, you gave birth to him, and now a piece of him is going right back into you.’ It’s like he’s helping me get through this, even now.”
The impact of Dalton’s donation has changed Haley’s life in more ways than one. “I never was a donor. I really wasn’t until this. And now all of us are,” she said. “It helps someone out that needs it to survive.”
Haley now shares Dalton’s story with others, including his three-year-old daughter Leelynn, who looks just like him. “We talk about Dalton with my granddaughter all the time,” Haley said. “He was a good kid. Strong, loving, caring. He would give the shirt off his back to help someone.”
The impact of donación de tejidos cannot be overstated. For those who have experienced traumatic accidents or debilitating diseases, tissue donation offers a lifeline to improved health and transformed quality of life. Signing up on the Michigan Organ Donor Registry also registers you as a tissue and eye donor. To one day help heal someone like Haley, visit golm.org/signup.
