A young engineer from Southampton has given the ultimate gift of life, saving three people through organ donation after a tragic and fatal accident.
A Life Full of Promise Cut Short
Jeremy O'Regan, a 21-year-old from Southampton, Hampshire, died following a fall from a block of flats on November 8. The outgoing and kind junior site engineer, who worked on the Botley bypass project, was described by his family as the "life and soul of the party." He was rushed to the Wessex Neuro Intensive Care Unit at Southampton General Hospital with catastrophic injuries.
His father, Lee O'Regan, 48, mother Danielle, 45, and younger brother Andrew, 23, said Jeremy was well-known across the city for his friendly nature. "He'd start a conversation with anybody and always had time to talk to people," his father recalled. For a week, medical teams fought to save him, performing emergency surgery and using advanced life support systems.
The Heartbreaking Decision and a Legacy of Hope
After scans confirmed Jeremy had suffered unsurvivable brain injuries, his family faced an agonising choice. "The surgeon said, 'Jeremy died a week ago. We've got some magical systems keeping him alive, but there is no hope,'" Mr O'Regan explained. Guided by their knowledge of Jeremy's character, they made the difficult decision to turn off his life support and proceed with organ donation.
"We were led by what Jeremy would have wanted and there's no way he wouldn't want to help other people," his father stated. That selfless act resulted in three life-saving transplants. The family later received a letter confirming the outcomes: a man in his 30s received a kidney after a four-year wait, a woman in her 20s got a kidney after three years, and a man in his 40s received Jeremy's heart, an especially rare and precious gift.
A Community Mourns and Gives Back
More than 120 people attended Jeremy's funeral on November 28 to celebrate his life. In his memory, his family launched a fundraiser which has raised over £7,000. The funds helped cover funeral costs, with plans to donate to the intensive care unit that provided such dedicated care. "The cost involved must have been astronomical," Mr O'Regan said, noting the 24-hour care his son received for seven days.
The family now hopes Jeremy's story will inspire others to join the organ donor register. "It's amazing for something so powerful to come from something so sad," his father reflected. "To us, he's an absolute hero to have saved three people. We just want his legacy to show that something good came at the end."
