The gift of a 'good-natured heart'

Robbie Sherren's selfless act marks the first-in-Canada donation of a heart after cardiac death

- MEGAN OGILVIE

Lorraine and Derk Sherren with a portrait of their son, Robbie, who donated his heart on May 7 in Kingston. Knowing that Robbie saved a life has eased their grief. "It made all the difference in the world to us," Lorraine says.

On the day they learned their son would not recover from a devastating brain injury, Lorraine and Derk Sherren asked if Robbie could donate his heart.

They told his medical team that Robbie was a proud giver and that saving another life would be his final wish.

Lorraine explained how he'd donated blood 121 times by 40, the age that a brain aneurysm sent him to the ICU at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. And Derk, an organ recipient himself, said Robbie had seen the life-changing impact a new kidney had on his life.

They were distraught when doctors said it wouldn't be possible. Robbie could donate other organs and tissue. But when the life support machines were turned off, his heart would stop, and it would also die.

"When we found out we wouldn't be able to use his heart, I was devastated," Lorraine said.

Again, his parents asked they refused to let go of Robbie's "good-natured heart."

Earlier this month in Kingston, Robbie Sherren's heart was the focus of a procedure that has never been done before in Canada. His medical team at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) was so moved by his parents' pleas that they pushed forward a plan to bring in a specialist surgical team from the U.S. Using a device that emulates the human body, the doctors were able to keep Robbie's heart warm and beating for transport, so that it could be used again.

Dr. Sam Shemie, medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at the Montreal Children's Hospital at McGill University Health Centre, said the procedure will vastly increase the pool of heart donors in the country.