Andrea Mauk was on holiday in Costa Rica when she learned that her 18-year-old son, Damon, had died after losing control of his car and striking a tree on June 24, 2023, in Lucas, Ohio. When she returned home, she discovered that parts of Damon's body had been removed as “anatomical gifts” without her consent.
Consent given by biological father
Speaking to the New York Post, the 42-year-old said: “I was completely devastated. I went to the funeral home and couldn’t even look at him after they’d taken pieces of his body.” She added: “They stole my son’s eyes. I didn’t want to remember Damon like that.”
The Ohio mum stated that the hospital never called her, despite records listing her as her son's primary emergency contact. Damon was not a registered organ donor. Consent to harvest his organs had come from Damon’s biological father, a man Andrea says played very little part in their son's life. Consent had been obtained, so technically the Organ Procurement Organisation (OPO) had operated within the scope of the law.
Campaign for Damon’s Law
Andrea told the New York Post she was left heartbroken and helpless in another country, with no rights and no contact from those removing her son's body parts. She is now determined to see 'Damon’s Law' enshrined in legislation to strengthen hospital procedures regarding tissue and organ donations.
“One 'yes' over the phone from Damon’s estranged biological father was all it took for his heart tissue, skin, eyes, and ligaments to be removed without my knowledge or consent and before a complete autopsy could be performed. My son's body parts were then sent to for-profit tissue centres, and his eyes were sent as far away as Argentina,” she said.
Reform and investigation
Andrea added: “While facing the worst loss of my life, I was denied the chance to give my son the goodbye I had hoped for. Instead, I was forced to fight for answers. I testified before the Ohio Senate and took a public records case all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, helping lead to higher transparency laws in the state. No family should have to fight this hard for the truth.”
On July 21, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced major reforms for the organ transplant system, including clear, enforceable policies to define donor eligibility criteria. The reform follows an investigation into a major organ procurement organisation operating in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio, which found cases where patients may have still been alive when organ harvesting began, poor neurological assessments, and questionable consent practices.
Andrea believes current laws aren't strong enough to protect grieving loved ones. She is not against organ donation: “I believe in organ donation,” she said, before adding: “This is not about ending the gift of life.”
