An organ donation recipient has written a powerful letter to a senior police officer and his wife thanking them for a second chance at life after the couple agreed to donate their son’s organs.
Charlie Stevens, 18, the son of South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, was with friends waiting for a bus to go to Schoolies celebrations when he was hit by a car driven by Dhirren Randhawa in Goolwa, south of Adelaide, on November 17 last year.
Charlie was airlifted to Flinders Medical Centre but died the next day from a severe brain injury surrounded by his family.
The apprentice labourer’s legacy continues after his parents respected their youngest son’s wishes to be an organ donor, prolonging the lives of seven people.
Eight months later, Commissioner Stevens and his wife Emma have already received letters from three donor recipients and read out parts of one of them on Channel Seven’s Sunrise programme on Monday.
“In many ways, I have been given the gift of life again, the opportunity to look ahead and see my children go through school, achieve important goals and perhaps even get married,” the letter said.
“This is what your family has given me.”
Commissioner Stevens admitted that the letters were difficult to read but it was nice to receive them.
Charlie Stevens’ last act before he died; last November he extended the lives of seven Australians
‘Difficult to “We read about it, but knowing the impact Charlie has had gives us some sense of comfort,” she said.
Respecting Charlie’s wishes was an easy decision for his grieving parents, even though they had no idea he had registered as a donor on his driver’s license.
“Charlie wanted to do that. We thought it would keep him with us a little longer,” said an emotional Ms Stevens as she fought back tears.
Her husband added: ‘We never thought that when Charlie ticked that box we would be in the situation where our family would be asked to confirm his decision.
“So it was a lot easier to know that that was what Charlie wanted.”
Only 36 per cent of Australians are registered to be organ donors, a statistic Commissioner Stevens and his family want to change.
“We never thought that when Charlie checked that box that we would be in a situation where our family would be asked to confirm their decision (to donate organs), it was a lot easier knowing that that was what Charlie wanted,” Commissioner Stevens said.
Charlie’s parents had no idea their youngest son was a registered organ donor.
Eight months on, South African police commissioner Grant Stevens and his wife Emma are still struggling with their unimaginable loss.
Rhandhawa was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated driving without due care, leaving the scene of an accident after death and failing to answer a question truthfully.
However, in a plea deal, he admitted to one count of aggravated driving without due care and leaving the scene of an accident.
He is due to appear in court for sentencing later this month.
