By Diana M. Alba SUN-NEWS REPORTER

Apr 10, 2006

The death of 15-year-old Sabrina Aguilar after a three-wheeler crash in February was a tragedy that hit her family hard.

But her parents admit if there was ever a silver lining to that dark cloud, it appeared in the mail last month.

They received letters from the family of a 16-year-old Texas girl, who'd gotten one of Sabrina's kidneys during a transplant. Las Crucen Edna Guerra, Sabrina's mother, decided when her daughter died to donate her organs.

Guerra said the news was somewhat comforting, especially because her daughter was so generous when she was alive.

"She's living in someone else's body," she said.

Sabrina's father, Geraldo Aguilar of Las Cruces, agreed, saying the word of the transplant was "heart-touching."

"She touched so many lives when she was alive, (and) she's still doing it," he said. "Her soul is in heaven, but her spirit is still alive here."

Aguilar and Guerra said they were also notified that a different recipient was given Sabrina's liver.

Sabrina's kidney went to Lawrencia Keys of Port Arthur, Texas. During a phone interview, Lawrencia said she'd been on a waiting list for a kidney for more than a year.

"I just thank Sabrina ... ," she said. "I got a life through her."

Lawrencia said she had a bladder problem that led to permanent kidney damage. To survive, she needed three-hour-long dialysis treatments three times per week. She admitted the experience wasn't pleasant.

"I would go right after school," she said. "Sometimes when I wanted to do things, I couldn't because I had dialysis."

Lawrencia, a junior in high school, said waiting for an available organ was difficult. She worried about having to remain on dialysis for the rest of her life, she said.

Then word came on Valentine's Day that a kidney match had been found. Two days later she was in the hospital undergoing surgery.

Lawrencia said she must remain on medication to keep her body from rejecting the kidney, but otherwise, she's feeling fine.

"It basically gave me a second chance to live life regularly," she said.

Lawrencia said she'd like to one day meet Sabrina's family.

Aguilar said he'd like Lawrencia to meet his other daughter, a half-sister who was very close to Sabrina. He hopes the meeting will help her with her grief, he said.

Pam Silvestri, public affairs director for Southwest Transplant Alliance in Dallas, said the transplant took place between two racial minorities -- groups that aren't well represented in the nation's pool of organ donors. The more similar the internal fingerprints of a donor and recipient, she said, the more successful a transplant will be.

Of the roughly 90,000 people waiting for organs in the United States, 65,000 need kidneys, Silvestri said. Of those 65,000 people, most are Hispanic or black. Most donors, however, are white.

"We encourage minorities to consider organ donation because typically when minorities donate, many organs will end up being given to other minorities," she said.

April is designated as National Organ Donor Month to draw awareness to the issue. But Silvestri said the subject is "important every day and something people need to talk about, not just in April."

Both Aguilar and Guerra said they'd never thought much about organ donation before Sabrina's accident.

But Aguilar said the experience has changed his perspective.

"It had never crossed my mind," he said. "Now, I'm going to push it to anybody I know."

Guerra said the decision to donate Sabrina's organs wasn't easy, especially because some of her family who are Catholic opposed the idea. She said she'd recommend families consider the option.

Guerra said when sorting through Sabrina's belongings, she discovered a poem her daughter had written in middle school. In it, Sabrina compared her life to a flower.

"... Now I sprout like a red rose," she wrote. "I get old, then I die/ Before I die, I say: 'Please don't cry. I'll be in God's hands. ...'"

The poem was some solace, Guerra said. Knowing her daughter's kidney has helped another girl is another comfort. Even so, her family has a ways to go.

"Sometimes we accept it, and sometimes there are days we get up and deny it," she said. "We all miss her."