The family of a man who donated his organs after passing away met the recipient of his heart in an emotional chance encounter at a baseball game.
Donovan Bulger, of Belleville, Illinois, was 21 years old when he died in August 2016 after an accident, reported CNN.
Because he was a registered organ donor, he helped save several people’s lives, according to his family.
One of them was John Sueme, from Saint Louis Missouri, who received Bulger’s heart after suffering from heart failure for five years.
The families had exchanged letters with each other but, because they were never allowed to reveal last names or where they lived, they never assumed they’d meet.
The Bulgers were attending a St Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium on Sunday wearing pictures of Bulger on their T-shirts.
Sueme’s daughter recognized the photo from letters the family had sent and brought her mother and father over to meet them.
The family of a man who donated his organs after passing away met the recipient of his heart in an emotional chance encounter at a baseball game. Donovan Bulger, 21, of Belleville, Illinois, died in August 2016 in an accident. Pictured, left and right: Bulger’s heart recipient, John Sueme, hugs Bulger’s family on Sunday
Bulger (pictured) was a registered organ donor and his heart went to John Sueme, 65, of St Louis, Missouri, who had been in heart failure for five years
Bulger’s family was attending the Cardinals game on Sunday for the baseball’s team Transplant Awareness Day.
The event is meant to honor the families of organ donors and celebrate those of organ recipients.
‘We try to attend events to help spread awareness,’ Bulger’s sister, Savannah Roesch, told CNN.
‘We were all standing there representing our brother when we heard someone ask: “Are you Donovan’s family?”‘
Last year, Sueme wrote a letter to Bulger’s family as a gesture of gratitude.
‘I followed guidelines – I can’t name myself – it was a general letter thanking them for this tremendous gift,’ Sueme, 65, told CNN.
Roesch wrote a letter back and, because no identifying information such as last names and ages can be included, she attached pictures of Bulger.
‘It’s such an intense feeling knowing you are so close to contact but really no idea who they are,’ she wrote in a Facebook post.
Sueme had been attending the game as well with his wife Liza, his daughter Catherine and two friends.
Bulger’s family was wearing neon green shirts with a picture of Bulger and under it were the words: ‘Brother, organ donor and hero.’
The families exchanged letters and weren’t allowed to reveal names, but Bulger’s sister attached photos of her brother in a letter to Sueme. Pictured, left to right: Catherine and Liza Sueme, Jake and Savannah Roesch, John Sueme, Brenden and Angie Bulger, and Katie and Chris Seper
Bulger’s family was attending a St Louis Cardinals game Sunday for Transplant Awareness Day when Sueme’s daughter recognized Bulger’s photo. The two families hugged and Bulger’s family took turns listening to his heart beat inside Sueme’s chest. Pictured, left and right: Sueme and his wife, Liza
His daughter, Catherine, had recognized Bulger’s picture and told her family that she believed this was the family of her father’s heart donor.
‘It was like lightning struck,’ said Sueme. ‘I certainly always wanted to meet them.’
Amid the tears and hugging, each of Bulger’s family members listened to his heart beat inside Sueme’s chest.
Video of the meeting, posted to Facebook by Roesch, has been viewed more than 88,000 times.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, there are nearly 114,000 people in the US currently waiting for a life-saving transplant.
The Bulger family said they are proud of their brother’s decision to be an organ donor, and plan to stay in contact with Sueme and his family.
‘This gives us peace,’ Katie Seper, one of Bulger’s sisters, told CNN. ‘We know he isn’t coming back but a sigh of relief knowing they are so appreciative of all that.’