64-year-old heart recipient meets 21-year-old donor's family — makes a silent promise to her memory

Perhaps the only way to keep your loved ones alive, even after they are gone, is through organ donation. Although the grief of suddenly losing a close one can make these thoughts hard to consider, it also makes you more empathetic to others experiencing similar pain. This newfound empathy often influences many grieving families to choose organ donation, offering others a second chance at life in honor of their loved ones. When Kristina Chesterman, a 21-year-old nursing student, passed away in a tragic road accident, her parents decided to eternalize her legacy by donating her organs to patients in need. Since then, Chesterman has posthumously saved at least five lives, as reported by the HuffPost.

Susan Vieira, who received Chesterman's heart following a severe congestive heart failure, was one of those who were lucky enough to be granted a fresh start in life. When Vieira, a resident of South Bay, was at the hospital, counting her days, looking for an emergency heart transplant, a call from Stanford University Hospital changed her life forever. The hospital informed them that a compatible donor had been found, and the same night, Vieira underwent surgery and received a successful heart transplant. "I never dreamed in my life how they would remediate my heart," she said. Later, when Vieira had recovered a little, she found out about her donor — Chesterman's family — and immediately decided to meet them. "I felt an instant connection. I felt that I'd known her for a long time. I felt comfortable right away. Even on the phone talking to her, I felt a connection," Sandra, Chesterman's mother, shared with the KCRC.

Meanwhile, Vieira, who was then 64, promised to fulfill her selfless donor's bucket list that she couldn't achieve when she was alive. As per the report, Chesterman was seemingly adventurous, as her bucket list included flying a plane, skydiving, riding a camel, and flying in a hot air balloon, among others. Moreover, her mother revealed that Chesterman had always been someone who had gone out of her way to help others, donating blood quite often, and registering herself as an organ donor when she turned 18. Apart from Vieira, Chesterman had also saved a baby boy, Jayden, who received part of her liver. "I believe Kristina was here to really make an impact, and that goodness will ripple forever," baby Jayden's grandmother shared with Mercury News.

More than 100,000 Americans are waiting for an organ,  with one new person joining the list every 8 minutes, reports the Health Resources & Services Administration. In a similar story, a nurse from Pennsylvania stepped up to save the life of a toddler by donating a part of her liver to him. When the baby's family understood that he required an immediate liver transplant, they started searching for an ideal donor. Thankfully, Makenzie, a registered nurse from Pennsylvania, was found to be a perfect match. "It was the right thing to do in my mind. It's what I would want someone to do for my family. I was in a position with my health, and I have plenty of support who said that I could do this, and I didn't see any reason why I wouldn't want to. A month of inconvenience seemed like a very, very small price to pay," she was quoted on Good Morning America.

The transplant operation was successfully performed, giving Logan Salva, the baby with a rare disorder, a second chance at life. His mother, Rasika Marletto-Salva, noticed rapid improvements in her son's health after the operation, with some of the visible symptoms also beginning to fade immediately after the transplant. Besides, Salva's complexion brightened, and his overall health improved significantly.