Watch the moment father hears his dead son’s heart beating again

Organ donor Matthew Heisler passed away in March but his generosity has given life to other people  

Neela Debnath
Wednesday 26 November 2014 12:02 GMT
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In scenes that are unlikely to leave a dry eye in the room, here is the moment a father heard his dead son’s heart beating again after it was donated to an elderly man.

Jared Heisler and his family got the chance to hear their son Matthew’s heartbeat eight months after the 21-year-old university student died in a house fire in North Dakota.

The Heislers met patient Tom Meeks, who received the heart shortly after Matthew’s death in March.

The family listened to Matthew’s heart in Mr Meeks’ chest using a stethoscope and were left emotional by the experience.

Mr Meeks was diagnosed with the rare heart disease amyloidosis in 2011 and spent three years on a waiting list for a heart transplant.

The Vietnam veteran was rejected five times by different hospitals due to his age and other health issues.

Doctors told him that he would not survive without the desperately-needed operation but luckily he was accepted onto a waiting list by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Days after Matthew’s death, his father Jared said he hoped that his son's organs could be used to help others.

Jared's wish came true after it emerged that Matthew had signed up to be an organ donor when he got his driving licence at 16.

“You get that licence, you check that box. You think it’s just a small thing,” Jared Heisler told US news channel Kare 11, adding, "I'm really proud of Matt."

His heart has thrown a life to Mr Meeks, who can now spend time with his wife Ann and their four grandchildren.

But Matthew didn’t just give Tom a second chance either, his organ donations helped 60 people, including a 46-year-old woman who received one of his kidneys and a 61-year-old man who got his liver.

The Heisler family now hope that the story of Matthew’s generosity will encourage others to become organ donors.

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