SAN ANTONIO – Many lives were touched after two fallen San Antonio police officers gave the gift of life and some of those recipients had a chance to say thank you on Monday.
The San Antonio Police Department along with the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA) honored fallen officers Robert Deckard and Miguel Moreno, who were both organ donors.
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TOSA said Moreno saved four lives following his donation last July and Deckard also saved the lives of four people following his donation in December 2013.
One of Deckard's recipients recently met the officer’s family last fall.
“The best way to describe it is surreal after not knowing for so long, but knowing what a difference it made in my life,” said Gene Dudley, heart recipient of Ofc. Deckard. “To finally meet the family and to finally understand the whole picture from the donor side was amazing."
The San Antonio Police Department and TOSA are collaborating to celebrate Donate Life ECHO, which is a national two-week outreach campaign held this year from July 8-21 that aims to educate on the importance of donation and transplantation among multicultural communities.
ECHO stands for Every Community Has Opportunity to save and heal lives.