SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio family is turning the loss of their 2-year-old son into an opportunity to help other families.
Malachi LeBlanc was found unresponsive at a community pool on Aug. 5. His parents, Grace and Myron LeBlanc, said the drowning was a tragic accident involving someone they trusted to care for their children.
Grace LeBlanc said she remembers rushing to the hospital after receiving the news.
“I just started saying, Jesus … Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and I rushed to the hospital,” she said.
After several days in the hospital, Malachi LeBlanc was declared brain-dead. His parents were told, however, that his organs were recovering and getting stronger. That led the Texas Organ Donation Alliance to approach the family about organ donation.
At first, Grace LeBlanc said, the idea was difficult to accept.
“My initial thing was, not my baby, nobody’s going to cut my baby open,” she said.
But as she thought about the other families waiting for transplants, her perspective changed.
“I’ve been in that room praying for a miracle, wanting my baby to live,” she said. “I felt that pain. To know that other parents are going through that, and there’s a chance that they’ll get to hear their baby cry again, that they’ll get to feel their breath and listen to their heartbeat — absolutely, why would I not want to give them that?”
The family said Malachi LeBlanc appears likely to donate his heart, liver and kidneys, although the outcome will depend on the transplant process.
For Grace and Myron LeBlanc, the decision gives them a way to carry on their son’s legacy.
“If we weren’t going to receive the miracle we wanted, I wanted Malachi to be that miracle for someone else,” Grace LeBlanc said.
Organ donors as young as Malachi LeBlanc are rare, his parents said they were told.
According to Donate Life America, more than 2,200 children under 18 are currently on the national transplant waiting list, with 27% younger than 5.
Organ size can be critical to a successful transplant, and younger children can be better suited to receiving organs from pediatric donors.
The LeBlanc family said they hope their son’s donations can give other families the miracle they had been praying for.
“I miss my baby,” Grace LeBlanc said. “He was perfect. He was just the joy of our life.”
When asked what they needed most, the LeBlanc family declined any help before stating they just wanted to help their church as they continue to lean into their faith during this difficult time.
They are in the process of raising funds for their church, Pursuit Church, with donations going toward maintaining and renovating a new space, as well as funding for their monthly food pantry.
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