ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)—In 2024, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital set a new record for the most lives saved through deceased organ donation, saving 119 people nationwide with 47 organ donations.
One of those donors was Jimmy Howe, who had been an organ donor since he was 16. His parents say he was the most giving person they knew, so knowing he would want to give life to others was no surprise.
“Jimmy was a really giving person,” said Vicky Grant, Jimmy’s mother, “For one thing, he loved animals and he loved if somebody needed something, Jimmy would help them out.”
“Even if he didn’t have much, he would give. Like if he got a Christmas present, he would give it to somebody else because they needed one. And just to try to make people that seem to be less fortunate, try to cheer them up,” said Lewis Howe, Jimmy’s father.
When Jimmy was 22, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and doctors didn’t think he’d live to see his 40th birthday.
“He struggled with it,” said Grant, “And that’s what he ended up passing with, was complications of diabetes type two. He went into a coma, and then cardiac arrest.”
Jimmy was passionate about music. Always picking up a guitar to cheer others up.
So, as Jimmy’s honor walk began from his hospital room to the operating room, a song he wrote could be heard in the quiet halls of the hospital
“It was beautiful. It was very nice. It was a good way to say goodbye. And then knowing that there was a lot of love there, when we were walking down the hallway, you could tell that there were a lot of people that were respectful. And having Jimmy play his song that he wrote added to the beauty of it,” said Grant.
“One of the things that Jimmy’s mom and dad shared with me is that they knew that if Jimmy needed an organ, that they would be in a hospital room somewhere praying for that gift of donation,” said Andrew Tressler, Director of Chaplaincy Service at Carilion Clinic, “And they shared with me that they knew that they were getting that they were going to be able to answer the prayers of other families across the country.”
Jimmy’s parents wanted to share his story in hope that it might inspire others to become organ donors themselves, because even though they’d lost their son, knowing that his death gave new life to four others and their families, has helped keep them going.