Sarah Gray: How my son's short life made a lasting difference
Sarah Gray: Wie das kurze Leben meines Sohnes einen nachhaltigen Unterschied bewirkte
Sarah Gray found meaning in tragic loss by donating the organs of her newborn son to advance scientific research. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
mit Zwillingen schwanger,
went to my second sonogram.
zu meinem zweiten Ultraschall ging.
we had a higher risk
dass es in diesem Alter
the standard birth defects,
den häufigsten Geburtsfehlern
that we were about to face.
that one of our twins, Thomas,
der Zwillinge, Thomas,
called anencephaly.
aufwies -- Anenzephalie.
was not formed correctly
typically die in utero
Babys normalerweise im Uterus
or days of being born.
Stunden oder Tagen nach der Geburt.
as far as the doctor could tell,
dies der Arzt feststellen konnte.
how this could have possibly happened,
zum Wie und Warum,
Reduktion vorgeschlagen.
was not impossible,
for the healthy twin and for me,
für mein gesundes Baby und mich.
the pregnancy to term.
beide Kinder auszutragen.
with two trimesters ahead of me,
und noch ganze 6 vor mir.
my blood pressure and my stress.
und meinen Stress kontrollieren.
point a loaded gun at you for six months.
lang mit geladener Waffe begleiten.
the barrel of that gun for so long
at the end of the tunnel.
to prevent the tragedy,
aufhalten konnte,
for Thomas's brief life
eye and tissue donation.
Augen- und Gewebstransplantationen.
organ-procurement organization,
Organspende-Organisation in Kontakt:
Transplant Community.
Transplant Community.
at birth to donate for transplant,
zu klein sein würde, um Organe zu spenden.
you could be rejected for that.
dass so etwas möglich ist.
a good candidate to donate for research.
Organe für die Wissenschaft spenden.
in einem neuen Licht:
gebeuteltes Opfer,
to unlock a medical mystery.
unbekannter medizinischer Rätsel.
and they were both born alive.
the top part of his skull,
like a normal baby,
eben wie ein normales Baby.
die Organspende-Organisation
in die nationale Kinderklinik.
National Medical Center.
that the recovery was a success,
Die Wiederherstellung war erfolgreich.
would be going to four different places.
verschiedene Einrichtungen gebracht:
to Duke University.
company called Cytonet in Durham.
das sich auf Zelltherapie spezialisiert.
to Schepens Eye Research Institute,
Augenforschungsinstitut Schepens,
to the University of Pennsylvania.
University of Pennsylvania.
with our immediate family,
Beerdigung im engsten Familienkreis,
closed this chapter in our lives.
what's happening now?
als Nächstes geschehen würde.
die Organe zu spenden?
to a grief retreat,
zu einem Trauertreffen ein
15 other grieving families
trauernde Familien kennen.
organs for transplant.
ihrer geliebten Menschen.
their loved one's organs,
could even meet each other
Treffen möglich sind,
I thought maybe I could write a letter
ich wollte einen Brief schreiben
and learn about what happened.
um zu erfahren, wie es weiterging.
for people who donate for transplant.
Organspendern vorbehalten war.
I had transplant envy, I guess.
quasi neidisch auf Organspender.
why they requested infant retinas
Netzhäute von Kleinkindern brauchten.
could visit their lab.
Laborbesuch möglich sei.
that arranged the donation,
an die Hornhautbank,
send it to the right person.
die richtige Person erreichte.
never done this before,
and they would deliver it.
und sie würden es weiterleiten.
of the University of Pennsylvania.
von der University of Pennsylvania.
that she is studying retinoblastoma,
an Retinoblastom forsche,
under the age of five,
we were invited to visit her lab.
imagine how we felt,
wie wir uns fühlten.
the ultimate sacrifice,
to feel indebted to us.
nichts gegen ihre Studie,
and the system chose your study.
und es traf jene Studie.
bad things happen to children every day,
jeden Tag schlimme Dinge.
be buried in the ground right now.
a new layer of meaning.
weitere Bedeutung beigemessen.
about using this tissue."
das Gewebe zu nutzen.
wie selten dieses Gewebe ist.
for this tissue six years earlier
Research Interchange.
Research Interchange.
that fit her criteria,
die ihren Kriterien entsprach
to come visit the lab,
einen Laborbesuch.
which was the twins' fifth birthday.
der fünfte Geburtstag meiner Zwillinge.
some pictures of Thomas and Callum,
Bilder von Thomas und Callum.
we received this T-shirt in the mail.
dieses T-Shirt per Post.
and I piled in the car
Ross, Callum und ich
not to feel guilty, that it was a relief,
als ich sie von ihrer Schuld freisprach.
from our perspective.
had a secret code name.
einen geheimen Codenamen hat.
is called HeLa,
einzigartiges Dokument.
from DC to Philadelphia.
nach Philadelphia geschickt wurden.
is like an heirloom to us now.
für uns zu einer Art Erbstück,
or a wedding certificate might be.
oder eine Eheurkunde.
Thomas's retina and his RNA
mit den Netzhäuten und der RNA versucht,
that causes tumor formation,
das Tumorbildung verursacht.
that were based on RES 360.
auf Basis von RES 360 vor.
that she still has
Proben enthalten waren,
gekennzeichnet sind.
when she might get more.
wann sie mehr bekommen würden.
with a birthday gift.
ein Geburtstagsgeschenk:
simple messages today.
zwei Botschaften übermitteln:
don't think about donating to research.
für die Forschung nicht in Betracht.
I think I'm a normal person.
ich bin da wie jeder andere.
and I recommend it,
diese positive Erfahrung.
with human tissue
menschlichem Gewebe arbeiten
and about the family,
und dessen Familie nachdenken,
tell them what you're working on,
erklären Sie Ihre Arbeit
even more gratifying for you
kann für Sie erfreulicher sein
in arranging one of these visits,
erfolgreich organisieren,
all four facilities
doing inspiring work.
ihre Arbeit ist inspirierend.
is that Thomas got into Harvard,
Thomas wurde in Harward
und dann in Pennsylvania zugelassen.
in order to do their job.
um ihre Arbeit zu verrichten.
brief and insignificant
und unbedeutend erschien,
everlasting and relevant.
beständig und bedeutungsvoll.
can be as relevant.
ebenso bedeutungsvoll sein.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Gray - Researchers' dream donatorSarah Gray found meaning in tragic loss by donating the organs of her newborn son to advance scientific research.
Why you should listen
While struggling to cope with the loss of their infant son Thomas, Sarah Gray and her family met the researchers who received his eye, liver and cord blood donations. This journey garnered national and international media attention and brought profound peace to the Gray family.
Gray is the director of marketing and public affairs for the American Association of Tissue Banks and a member of the AATB Donor Family Guidance Document Committee. She is author of a forthcoming memoir from HarperOne, A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boy's Gift to Medical Science.
Gray holds a BA in Communications from Marquette University and a Masters in Public Communication from American University, where her capstone topic was nondirected kidney donation. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Ross and children, Callum and Jocelyn.
Sarah Gray | Speaker | TED.com