The tragic death of 13-year-old Queens student Sanjay Samuel has given new life to others after his grieving family chose to donate his organs, saving four people across the United States.
Doctors confirmed that Sanjay’s heart went to a boy his same age, his liver to a 15-year-old, and his lungs, pancreas, and one kidney to two adults in their 50s.
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“I’m happy. It’s a good thing,” said Sanjay’s father, Theophilus Samuel. “It’s very hard, this loss. But at least he saved four people.” He added that agreeing to the donation “was not a hard decision at all.”
Leonard Achan, president and CEO of LiveOnNY — the nonprofit coordinating organ donations in the New York area — praised the family’s choice. “This young teen became an organ donor hero today after his grieving family generously said yes to giving the gift of life to patients waiting for a second chance,” he said. “We are humbled and honored to be the stewards of these precious gifts of life so that Sanjay and others may live on.”
The recipients of Sanjay’s organs are located in New York, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., officials said.
Sanjay was pronounced dead Wednesday at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, though he remained on a ventilator until the harvesting surgery could be performed.
Police say the eighth-grader was fatally shot in the head on September 22 while standing with classmates outside a Dunkin’ Donuts near Springfield and Linden Boulevards in Cambria Heights, Queens. According to investigators, a 16-year-old suspect approached on a Razor scooter, pistol-whipped Sanjay, and then shot him in the back of the head in what authorities believe was a gang-related incident.
The accused teenager surrendered to police on Friday with his lawyer and was ordered held without bail during a Saturday hearing in Queens Criminal Court.
