Mother of heart donor and recipient promote organ donation at UCI Medical Center
April 24, 2019
IN THE NEWS: Erika Heranic, a Lake Elsinore resident, was interviewed by ABC7 News about her journey as a heart transplant recipient. After surviving a major heart attack, multiple episodes of cardiac arrest and a stroke, Heranic was placed on the heart transplant list. While she waited, a tragic car accident ended 19-year-old Dylan Stump’s life.
Two years ago Easter weekend, Stump, a college student from Long Beach, was traveling home for the holiday weekend, when he was in a car accident. He died later at UCI Medical Center. His mother, Dana Stump, met today with Heranic, who now has Dylan’s heart beating in her chest. They remembered Dylan’s life, and promoted organ donation.
OneLegacy, the non-profit, federally-designated organ recovery organization, works with hospital systems like UCI Heath to support families who make the decision to honor their loved ones by donating life-saving and healing organs and tissues for those in need.
According to OneLegacy, one donor can save and heal more than 75 people.
- Organ donation could save up 8 lives
- Cornea donation could give sight to 2 people
- Tissue donation could heal up to 75 people
Learn more
UCI Health comprises the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. The 417-bed acute care hospital provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
