The University Health System, along with other organizations like the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, have taken the next steps in making the process of organ and tissue recovery an easier one.
It’s a process Amparo Marles, a donor mom, knows all too well.
"Our bodies are no use to ourselves, and if we give our organs (to) others it will help to give life," Marles said.
In June of 2016, her son, Jorge Jose, a father and military veteran, gave the ultimate gift.
"The donation of our son's organs to other people has given life to others, including a child. They are living because of my son," Marles said.
Now, with the help of University Health and others, organ and tissue recovery will be much more efficient.
"This can really enhance the number of organs that can be transplanted, not only in the region that we serve, but throughout the United States," said Francisco Cigarroa, director of the University Transplant Center.
Currently there are 114,000 people waiting to receive organs. Every day, 22 of those people die while waiting.
Dorothy Dot Delarosa, a lung recipient, was one of the lucky ones to get an organ in time.
“A lot of people are on the waiting list, I was one of the fortunate ones to only wait four days, but it's so critical because – if it had been that fifth day – I'm not sure that I would be here," she said. "Thank God someone said yes."
Now that they have all the things they need for organ donations and recoveries in one place, things will run smoother—and quicker. The new center is expected to bring in 450 more donors over the next five years.
"Now that I'm able to breathe again because of a lifesaving gift – an organ tissue donor – I wouldn't be here. It's life-changing," Delarosa said.
"It gives us some kind of meaning to our grief," Marles added. "Wherever he is in heaven, he's happy he gave life to others. And we as a family know that, somehow, he's living in others."