This is the emotional moment a family comes face-to-face with the young boy whose life was saved thanks to their three-year-old son’s organs.
Sydney parents Brooke and Ibrahim Urasli’s son Zane was hit by a car in October last year, and after 10 days in intensive care, they made the agonising decision to turn off his life support.
Their decision to donate his organs saved the lives of five other young children, including six-year-old Mason.
The emotional moment Brooke Urasli hugs Mason – the little boy who was saved thanks to her son Zane’s lungs
Brooke and Ibrahim Urasli’s son Zane (pictured) was hit by a car in October last year, and after 10 days in intensive care, made the agonising decision to turn off his life support
Mason’s mother Tatiana Johnson was preparing for the worst when she got the call to say a set of lungs was available for her son.
Although it was the news she was so desperately seeking, she said she felt an overwhelming amount of sadness for the family who had lost their child.
‘I literally fell apart in a sobbing mess… knowing what someone else was going through,’ she told 60 Minutes.
Under Australian law, hospitals are not allowed to pass on organ donors’ and recipients’ details.
But scrolling through social media one day, Mason’s mother happened upon a news article about Zane’s death and his parent’s decision to donate his organs.
Despite Australian laws, Tatiana made the decision to contact Zane’s family online and say thank you for the gift of life.
Brooke and Ibrahim Urasli made the decision to donate their son’s organs – ultimately saving the lives of five other children
Mason’s (pictured) mother Tatiana Johnson was preparing for the worst when she got the call saying a set of lungs were available for her son
She said it was an extremely difficult decision to make.
‘I was in two minds about it. I didn’t want to add any more pain, that was the last thing I wanted to do,’ she said.
Less than a week after Brooke and Ibrahim Urasli buried their son, Tatiana reached out.
When she received the message, Brooke said she was ‘over the moon’.
‘I know it’s just a body part but it’s something that I grew inside of me for nine months and a part of Zane and to see where it went, I think that’s important,’ she said.
‘I was in two minds about it. I didn’t want to add any more pain, that was the last thing I wanted to do,’ Mason’s mother Tatiana Johnson said
The two families quickly struck up a close online friendship, and went on to meet face-to-face.
Zane’s parents said they would always grieve the loss of their son, but giving the gift of life made the process that much easier.
‘He put smiles on five other families faces. Knowing that five other families are happy makes us happy,’ Ibrahim said.
The two families are now pushing for laws to be changed so organ donors and recipients are given the option of meeting each other.