WORLD NEWS – BRAAZIL: At a stirring gathering at the Instituto Doutor José Frota (IJF) in Fortaleza, transplant recipients and donor families converged for a celebration of life focused on organ and tissue transplantation. The 13th meeting brought together those who said yes to donation, spotlighted by Grupo Cidade de Comunicação’s Maria Sofia campaign, and framed around personal stories of loss, courage and second chances.
Parents Maria Evangelista and Antônio Ricardo, who lost their 25 year old son Gustavo in March 2025, made the wrenching decision to authorize donation. Gustavo’s liver ruptured and bleeding limited what could be recovered, but his corneas were donated so another person can see because of him. Their choice was presented as a powerful example of how a single family’s consent leads directly to transplantation and restored life for others.
Recipients delivered vivid accounts of the transplant journey. Altair endured ten separate calls for a lung transplant before the right organ and consent aligned, and he described being in end stage lung failure, dependent on oxygen and unable to walk until a family finally said yes in March 2025 and enabled his life saving lung transplant. Diógenes, now living with a new heart, celebrated time with grandchildren and everyday purpose and noted that donations at the event included heart, liver, kidneys and corneas, with his own donor story involving six people.
Organizers emphasized IJF’s national role in organ procurement, reporting more than 100 donations from January to August and a family acceptance rate of 84 percent, well above the national average. The gathering was framed as gratitude, remembrance and a call to expand transplantation through clear family guidance, compassionate support and public campaigns that transform tragedy into renewed hope.
