The Gift of Life

With Christmas less than a week away, buying gifts is on almost everyone's minds. But you may not be thinking of one that can be the ultimate gift... an organ donation that saves a life.

A few weeks ago, we told you about Destiny Baldwin... A two year old little girl who was hit by a car and killed, but donated her heart to save another child's life. Recently we learned of a similar case from six years ago, when Drew Purdin was diagnosed with liver cancer. He got that life saving donation and is now both healthy and happy to talk about his gift.

Drew Purdin does the chicken chance as well as any eight year old boy could.... And putting together the pieces of a puzzle comes just as naturally. But while this child plays he carries a gift... A new liver given to him when he was just 2 years old and diagnosed with cancer. A gift he sees as something that came from above.

Drew's mother, Annie Purdin says, "He tells us an angel have gave him his liver so he knows that something very special happened to him."

Something that allowed Drew to get through his chemotherapy and come out healthy and smiling.

As he plays he says he understands just how much he owes the person who saved his life. Drew says, "I think about her and saying thank you and I think about her helping me when my mom said i have a bad liver, and she gived it to me."

A gift Drew's whole family remembers from that night when someone else died so their boy could live. Annie Purdin says, "They always are in our prayers and think about them and thank them for doing that and being our heroes."

And Drew tells us he wants to be a hero himself when he grows up... his goal is to be a police officer. He says, "I wanna arrest people that are doing bad and I like their outfits."

High hopes for an eight year old who is making the most of his second chance... His mother says, "You feel like this is his chance to live."

Drew couldn't be more appreciative. He says, "Thank you, thank you very much."

The Purdins do not know the identity of the donor who gave Drew the liver.

Drew was one of many on Tennessee's organ donation waiting list. The state's donation services tells us in our area alone there are more than four thousand people on that list, and only about two hundred people donate each year. Drew and his family say he's one of the lucky ones and is making the most of his second chance.

Tennessee's Donor Services just made it much easier for you to become an organ donor. Starting this month, you can now register online. You can find a link to their website to the right of this article under associated links.