'A stab right in my heart': Organ donor teen's tissues denied because he was gay, mom says

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AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Christina Stewart is mourning the loss of her 17-year-old son.

"It's really hard, I'm still in shock," she said. "I just couldn't believe it."

She said he took his own life last week.

Stewart said her son was a quiet, caring kid who played football and had a passion for graphic design.

According to documentation with the Donate Life Texas Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, the teen registered as an organ and tissue donor in September 2024. Stewart said the donation of her son's tissues were denied because he was gay.

The executive director of Donate Life Texas said the organization's deepest sympathies go out to the teen's family and friends, and could not confirm the details of the tissue denial Tuesday evening. The group is working to provide KXAN with additional information.

Anyone, regardless of age or medical history, can sign up to be a donor, according to Donate Life Texas. The medical evaluation happens at the time of death.

FDA makes new recommendations regarding sexual orientation, tissue donation

Donate Life follows FDA guidelines for organ and tissue donation.

According to Gift of Life, another organ and tissue donation registry, which operates outside of Texas, the current FDA policy prohibits men from donating tissues or corneas if they have been sexually active with other men within a certain time frame of the donation.

However, this month, the FDA has issued new draft guidance pertaining to this matter. The agency now recommends eliminating donor-screening questions that are specific to gay or bisexual men and woman who have been sexually active with gay or bisexual men.

The FDA instead recommends assessing "donor eligibility using the same individual risk-based questions relevant to HIV, HBV, and HCV risk for every donor regardless of sex or gender."

In 2023, the FDA moved to ease rules regarding blood donations for gay men.

Organ donation quick facts

According to Donate Life:

• One organ donor can save eight lives
• One cornea donor can restore sight to two people
• One tissue donor can help heal more than 75 people

Donate Life's website also states you are more likely to need a transplant in your lifetime than you are to be a donor after you pass away, given that "only three in 1,000 people die in a way that allows for deceased organ donation."

That's one of the reasons Stewart said she's so heartbroken her son's useable tissues were denied.

"It just feels like a stab right in my heart," she said. "I feel like I need to speak up for him. [His tissues] could have helped 80-100 people, they said."