On Valentine’s Day 1999, Eva Perez’s six-year-old son Hernán Aispuro died in a snow sledding accident. With the donation of his heart, liver and kidneys, he saved four lives. “I saw how they fought to save his life, but it wasn’t meant to be,” said Eva. “[Donation] was a way for him to keep living.”

Eva & Hernán's Story

It was Valentine’s Day 1999, and the Perez family celebrated by traveling to the nearby mountains to enjoy the snow. As soon as they parked their car, Eva Perez' six-year old son Hernán Aispuro jumped out and took off downhill on his home-made sled before she had a chance to stop him. He hit a tree, and by the time Eva reached him, he had lost consciousness. Hernán was airlifted by helicopter to the nearest hospital, but it was too late.

“I saw how they fought to save his life, but it wasn’t meant to be,” said Eva, a 42-year old Mexican woman, who shortly after was approached about donating her child’s organs. “I had never heard of that procedure, but I felt good. I did not want him to die; it was a way for him to keep living.”

A few months after the donation, Eva received a letter with information about the people Hernán had saved: a two-year old boy had received his heart; a nine-year old girl had received his liver; and a man and a woman each received one kidney. “I cried when I got the letter. I keep that piece of paper like his birth certificate, old and crumbled, but it is like a piece of gold,” said Eva.

Eva’s dream was to meet one of her son's recipients, and she tried for six years with no success. Finally, she received a letter from the little girl, now a teen, who had received Hernán’s liver. She did not know how to react. “I didn’t have the courage to answer the letter for a whole year. I would start crying and I could not reply, even though I was dying to do so. I can’t explain it,” she said.

When Eva finally answered, she received an immediate reply and within a week, she had a date to meet the teen and her family.

“Meeting her gave me a lot of peace, to know that they were taking care of him. Before that I felt kind of desperate. I would ask myself, ‘Where is he?’ Our meeting calmed me,” Eva recalled.

It’s been seven years since the tragic accident. Eva goes to the cemetery with her husband and three other children every Saturday between Halloween and Christmas to visit Hernán and decorate his grave.

“My son was a very happy boy and he would not leave me alone for one second. He liked to do everything and he always shared his things.”

Both Eva and her husband Arnoldo participated in volunteer training so that they could become active in promoting organ and tissue donation in the Latino community of Los Angeles. They are firm believers that Hernán can continue to save more lives, not just the ones he touched directly.

“If we don’t go out there and volunteer, Hernán is not going to save more lives. He inspired us and we continue with his mission,” she stated proudly.