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In one part of the country, a patient cries with relief after receiving a phone call. Hundreds of miles away, a mother cries in agony at the loss of her 29 year old son. She is one of Cleveland Clinic’s own: a Coordinator at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
About four years after the death of her son Joseph, Anne Petric received a call from Lifebanc. Joseph’s heart recipient, Terry Clark, had sent a letter for the (Siegrist) Petric family. More letters where shared through Lifebanc and eventually, the two families met.
Joseph and Terry’s families met at Cleveland Clinic, where they watched videos, shared photos of Joseph and enjoyed dinner — like family. Anne also listened, through a stethoscope, to her son’s heart beat again.
“To hear my son’s heart was overwhelming,” she says, “bringing tears of joy for Mr. Clark, but also, tears of sadness for my son.”
Anne describes Joseph as an intelligent, creative young man who was quick to forgive, and sensitive to others. He belonged to the Theta Xi fraternity and was a graduate of The Ohio State University.
“While Joseph was unable tofulfill his own life’s purpose, I can’t think of a more significant outcome of his passing, than saving the life of someone else,” says Anne. “After meeting Terry, I feel a sense of peace I have not had since my son’s passing. It was validation that Joe’s death was not in vain.”
“I was unaware my son was an organ donor ,” says Anne. “He recognized the significance of organ donation — the miracle of extending the life of another human being, and returning joy to the family.” Four additional lives were saved through the donation of Joseph’s lungs, liver and kidneys.
“Terry mentioned there are far fewer people willing to sign up to be donors than who would gladly receive an organ,” she adds. Terry had his first heart attack in 1993, another in 1995 with quadruple bypass, nine stents put in 1999, and went into congestive heart failure in 2001. By 2011, Terry couldn’t walk, dress or bathe himself.
“Life-saving transplants,” such as the one Terry was able to receive from her son, says Anne, “can’t happen without altruistic donors.”
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 82,600 employees worldwide are more than 5,786 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,700 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,728-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 280 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2024, there were 15.7 million outpatient encounters, 333,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 320,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 112 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at x.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources are available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
Editor’s Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.
