SAN ANTONIO — Aisha Williams said her son 19-year-old Hezekiah Williams had his whole life ahead of him.
"He was completing his high school diploma and on his way to college," Williams said, "just so much going for his life."
Williams said her son was shot multiple times in a driveby shooting on the city's northside in January of 2019.
"It was the wrong place at the wrong time," Williams said.
At the hospital, Williams had to make a decision on what to do next.
"The decision was only challenging and hard for me, only because I wanted my son," Williams said, "but then there was an even bigger purpose."
Within 24 hours, her son would become an organ donor, gifting five people a second chance at life.
"I thought about how much of a giver he was," Williams said, "and when I thought about that I just realized it was something I had to do to continue his legacy of giving."
Her brother knew someone who had been waiting for transplant for six years and made the request. This is called a direct donation and the recipient, Troy Mathis said it was nothing short of a miracle.
"I was starting to feel like it wouldn't happen," Troy Mathis said. "Keep hope. don't give up, you know, because help is on the way."
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Mathis received a kidney and said his recovery has been smooth and successful.
"I didn't know what to expect," Mathis said. "We don't talk about this. I was never educated on this until it happened."
The Texas Organ Sharing Alliance announced in Central and South Texas alone - more than 200 people saved lives through organ donation in 2019. A record-breaking number for the fourth consecutive year in a row.
Despite the record increases, the waiting list continues to grow.
Mathis and Williams want to educate the community in hopes of saving more lives.
"When you are making those donations you are saving lives," Mathis said, "You're giving life. I don't know what else to say, thank you is not even enough."
For more information on donations, click here.