Sarah Gray: How my son's short life made a lasting difference
莎拉•格雷: 我儿子短暂的一生如何造就了永恒的改变
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.
went to my second sonogram.
去做第二次超声波检查。
we had a higher risk
the standard birth defects,
了解了一下常见的先天缺陷,
that we were about to face.
that one of our twins, Thomas,
其中一个孩子托马斯,
called anencephaly.
叫大脑缺失症。
was not formed correctly
typically die in utero
or days of being born.
as far as the doctor could tell,
how this could have possibly happened,
was not impossible,
for the healthy twin and for me,
要冒很大风险,
the pregnancy to term.
with two trimesters ahead of me,
还有六个月要等,
my blood pressure and my stress.
控制自己的血压和心理压力。
point a loaded gun at you for six months.
整整六个月拿着一把上膛的枪对着你
the barrel of that gun for so long
at the end of the tunnel.
to prevent the tragedy,
for Thomas's brief life
eye and tissue donation.
护士关于器官捐赠的事情。
organ-procurement organization,
当地一家器官移植机构,
Transplant Community.
at birth to donate for transplant,
他的器官不适合用来移植,
you could be rejected for that.
a good candidate to donate for research.
捐赠给研究机构会比较合适。
to unlock a medical mystery.
and they were both born alive.
the top part of his skull,
like a normal baby,
在罗斯的怀中离开了我们,
他们派来一辆车,
National Medical Center.
国家儿童医学中心。
that the recovery was a success,
事情进展得很顺利,
would be going to four different places.
被送到了四个不同的机构。
to Duke University.
company called Cytonet in Durham.
一家细胞治疗公司,叫Cytonet。
to Schepens Eye Research Institute,
斯格本斯眼科研究院,
to the University of Pennsylvania.
宾夕法尼亚大学。
with our immediate family,
只有直系亲属参加,
closed this chapter in our lives.
what's happening now?
to a grief retreat,
参加了一个互助会,
15 other grieving families
organs for transplant.
的器官捐赠了出去。
their loved one's organs,
could even meet each other
I thought maybe I could write a letter
来了解事情的进展。
and learn about what happened.
用于移植手术的人才能这么做。
for people who donate for transplant.
I had transplant envy, I guess.
why they requested infant retinas
为什么在2010年3月的时候,
could visit their lab.
that arranged the donation,
当初安排捐赠的眼睛库,
send it to the right person.
never done this before,
and they would deliver it.
of the University of Pennsylvania.
的阿鲁帕•甘古丽博士。
that she is studying retinoblastoma,
under the age of five,
we were invited to visit her lab.
我们参观她的实验室。
imagine how we felt,
the ultimate sacrifice,
to feel indebted to us.
and the system chose your study.
是系统选择了你的研究。”
bad things happen to children every day,
每天都有许多孩子经历不幸,
be buried in the ground right now.
a new layer of meaning.
about using this tissue."
for this tissue six years earlier
“国家疾病研究交流中心”
Research Interchange.
that fit her criteria,
to come visit the lab,
参观实验室的时间,
which was the twins' fifth birthday.
就在双胞胎5岁生日当天。
some pictures of Thomas and Callum,
托马斯和卡勒姆的照片,
we received this T-shirt in the mail.
我们收到了他们寄来的T恤。
and I piled in the car
卡勒姆和我收拾行装,
not to feel guilty, that it was a relief,
不要觉得亏欠时她真的松了一口气,
from our perspective.
像我们一样来看这件事。
had a secret code name.
托马斯有一个秘密代号。
is called HeLa,
被称为“海拉”一样,
整个项目进行10年来
从华盛顿运到费城。
from DC to Philadelphia.
is like an heirloom to us now.
成了我们的传家宝。
or a wedding certificate might be.
军功章或者结婚证一般。
Thomas's retina and his RNA
托马斯的视网膜和RNA
that causes tumor formation,
that were based on RES 360.
得到的一些研究成果。
that she still has
when she might get more.
能再找到合适的样本。
with a birthday gift.
送给卡勒姆一份生日礼物。
simple messages today.
don't think about donating to research.
捐赠器官用于研究。
I think I'm a normal person.
我也是个普通人。
我建议你们也试试,
and I recommend it,
with human tissue
and about the family,
tell them what you're working on,
介绍一下你的工作,
even more gratifying for you
安排了这么一次参观,
in arranging one of these visits,
all four facilities
doing inspiring work.
他们在做了不起的事。
is that Thomas got into Harvard,
考入了哈佛大学,
in order to do their job.
brief and insignificant
而微不足道的生命
everlasting and relevant.
can be as relevant.
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