Amber Ricks approached Jason Wu, a young man she had just met, and asked if she could hug him. He nodded his approval with a tear in his eye and they embraced, the grieving mom holding tightly to the young man.

In Jason Wu, Amber’s daughter Ambriana lives on. Through the gift of life, the 23-year-old was able to provide Jason with a new chance at a healthier life upon her own passing.

Jason Wu

“Ambriana was a fierce and passionate and caring person,” Amber said, holding a picture of her daughter wearing a cap and gown.

One year after Ambriana was fatally injured in a car wreck, her parents, Amber and David Ricks, had an opportunity to meet the young man whose life was changed by someone he had never met.

“It’s been a tough year without Ambriana but to have something positive like this,” Amber said, “to see how her choice to be an organ donor has given him back his life --- I’m grateful, I’m really grateful for that.”

Jason’s gratitude is palpable: “I’ve been able to do more this year than I have been able to in the last six, so it’s been really nice making a lot of progress,” he said, “and getting to do things I want to do.”

For Jason, that includes playing the violin and pursuing his passion for music. The kidney he now has, thanks to Ambriana, allows him to live a life free from much of the pain and illness he had endured.

Jason Wu hugs David Ricks

Jason met the Ricks family at a reunion at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, where he received his kidney transplant. At Texas Health Fort Worth, a dedicated transplant team is at the ready to help make organ donor’s posthumous wishes a reality, while giving living patients a chance at a new existence.

Founded in 1986, the Kidney Transplant Program at Texas Health Fort Worth helps give new life to patients from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and throughout the U.S. with more than 1,100 kidney transplants performed since the program began.

“The kidney transplant program is a precious program for us,” said Joseph DeLeon, president of Texas Health Fort Worth. “It’s bene a part of our ministry and our service for many years now, and it’s critically important as we serve the community every day.”