Organ recipient and donor family meet for 1st time after Global News report

WATCH ABOVE: An organ donor recipient and donor family meet after a Global News story. Cindy Pom reports.

TORONTO – She had a tissue box ready but by the end of the reunion it was nearly empty.

Cindy Barkley couldn’t hold back the tears as she gave a big hug to Fatima Baig, who had come to visit her and her husband in Dunnville, Ont. to say thank you.

“You guys are amazing,” said Baig.

READ MORE: Second double lung transplant recipient beating the odds

It was their first face to face meeting, five months after the liver from Barkley’s son was given to the 21-year-old Mississauga woman.

Baig, who was in the final stages of liver failure, had been waiting three years and eight months for a new liver.

Without it, she would have died.

The reunion was exceptional because organ donation is anonymous; neither the recipient nor the donor family is given the identity of the other by the hospital.

However, a Global News story brought the two families together.

Barkley happened to be watching Global News on Oct. 13, 2014 when the story of Baig receiving a life-saving liver transplant came on the television.

“I just had this overwhelming feeling that it had to be her,” said Barkley.

Born with spina bifida yet despite being relatively healthy, Barkley’s son Holden Passmore died as a result of brain damage on Sept. 21 at the age of 20. Two days later, Baig received a liver transplant.

READ MORE: Ontario father, 3-year-old daughter recovering after liver transplant

The timing wasn’t the only clue that led Barkley to put two and two together; both have the rare B positive blood type. Only nine per cent of Canadians have blood type B, according to Canadian Blood Services.

In addition to a B-group match, there were other requirements. Baig, who weighs less than 100 lbs at 4-foot-5, needed a transplant from someone close to her size. Passmore fit that description, too.

“Holden wasn’t a registered organ donor because he didn’t understand what that meant,” said Barkley, whose son also had developmental delays.

“I always knew in my heart that I would do that if I could,” she said, adding Holden’s other organs have helped four other Ontarians.

Barkley waited until the television report was uploaded to globalnews.ca. She then posted her suspicions in the comment section. Baig’s mother responded and the two began to correspond by email.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Trillium Gift of Life Network mailed Barkley an anonymous thank you note from the donor recipient, which Fatima confirmed she had written.

As the two families shared stories in the Dunnville home about Holden’s humour, love of movies, and all things Mickey Mouse, Barkley told Baig a story about an orchid in the living room that Holden had given her years ago. It bloomed for the first time in January, the week he would have turned 21.

“I had never believed in signs before,” Barkley said.

Since the transplant, Baig has become a major advocate for organ donation, organizing rallies in her South Asian community to urge more people to register as donors.

In Ontario, 26 per cent of people are registered organ donors. In many homogenous Caucasian communities, the rate is much higher – around 50  per cent. However, in culturally diverse areas such as Toronto, the rate is only 17%, according to Trillium Gift of Life Network. 1,581 Canadians are currently waiting for a transplant.

“You have to put yourself in the other position. What if it was us waiting for an organ for our child?” said Barkley, who is a registered organ donor along with Holden’s stepfather.

Although Barkley only had 20 precious years with her son, a part of him now lives on in Fatima, who talked about her new found health and ability to attend school. She is a student at Sheridan College and hopes to become a nurse.

“I’m so happy and thankful and grateful for you guys. I thank God for Holden and the decisions you made,” said Baig.