Andrea Mauk was on holiday in Costa Rica when she learned that her 18-year-old son, Damon, had died in a car crash. On returning home, she discovered that parts of his body had been removed as "anatomical gifts" without her consent.
Damon had recently graduated from high school and was pursuing his real-estate licence. On June 24, 2023, in Lucas, Ohio, he lost control of his vehicle on a country road and collided with a tree.
Andrea was with her husband and friends in Costa Rica when her parents called with the news. She recalled needing to be sedated upon learning she had lost her son. The 42-year-old mother rushed home, only to find a second ordeal awaiting her.
Consent given by biological father
Speaking to the New York Post, Andrea 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."
Andrea stated that the hospital never contacted her, despite records listing her as Damon's primary emergency contact. Damon was not a registered organ donor. Consent to harvest his organs had been granted by his biological father, a man Andrea claims played virtually no role in their son's life. Technically, the Organ Procurement Organisation (OPO) had acted within the law.
Damon had been raised without his biological father. It was only in death that his biological dad chose to exercise parental rights and make choices on his son's behalf. Andrea told the New York Post she was left devastated and powerless in a foreign country, with no rights and no communication from those harvesting her son's organs.
Campaign for Damon's Law
Andrea is now determined to see 'Damon's Law' incorporated into legislation to reinforce hospital protocols surrounding tissue and organ donations. She said: "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 added: "Congress must pass Damon's Law to stop organ procurement organisations from pressuring grieving families, require truly informed consent, and keep donated body parts from being shipped to or sold by for-profit companies." Andrea testified before the Ohio Senate and took a public records case to the Ohio Supreme Court, helping lead to higher transparency laws in the state.
Andrea maintains there are no records showing anyone from the hospital tried to contact her after Damon died. "After deciding 30 minutes was a 'reasonable' amount of time to reach me, they turned to Damon's biological father, who had no custody, was not involved in his life, and had never helped make medical decisions for him. I have found no record that anyone called me," she said, adding: "The medical records only show that I called the hospital."
Reforms to organ transplant system
Andrea is not opposed to organ donation. "I believe in organ donation," she said, before adding: "This is not about ending the gift of life."
On July 21, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced sweeping reforms to the organ transplant system, establishing transparent, enforceable policies to define criteria for donor eligibility. The reforms follow an investigation that exposed troubling practices by a prominent organ procurement organisation operating across Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio.
The investigation uncovered cases in which some patients may have still been alive when their organs were removed, and revealed the organisation may have carried out inadequate neurological assessments of potential donors. Poor co-ordination with medical teams and questionable consent practices were also brought to light. Fox News medical analyst Dr Marc Siegel praised Robert F. Kennedy, the US Health and Human Services Secretary, for "bringing to light horror stories about the dark corners of organ harvesting".
Current legislation is overseen by overlapping state and federal laws. US federal law mandates that hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid notify OPOs of deaths and imminent deaths, many within 60 minutes, regardless of whether a patient is a registered donor. OPOs are obliged to approach family members of potential donors; failure to do so results in financial penalties, fostering a culture where grieving families face pressure during devastating moments.
Andrea continues to campaign for reform in honour of her son, whom she describes as the light of her life.
