UB organ donor’s first meeting with young recipient goes viral

In case you missed it, UB’s own Sandy Flash is going viral in a video that captures a very personal and touching moment between her and the little boy whose life she saved by donating a portion of her liver.

You may remember that Flash, associate vice provost for academic affairs, recently spoke to UBNow about her decision to become a living organ donor following her husband’s bout with cancer. Matched with a pediatric patient with end-stage liver disease, Flash underwent transplant surgery in May 2023, but the identities of both donor and recipient were kept from each other to protect their confidentiality.

Now, the Cleveland Clinic, where the surgeries were performed, has shared the whole story, producing and releasing a video of the first meeting between Flash and her recipient: a 1-year-old boy named Sonny.

The video from July already has garnered tens of thousands of views on social media and has been picked up by numerous media outlets, including Good Morning America and ABC News. It includes a tearful moment when Flash first sees the boy and a heart-warming exchange between Flash and Sonny’s mother, Katie White.

See for yourself.

“It was such an emotionally charged moment,” Flash tells UBNow. “I had been thinking about who my recipient might be since I first decided to volunteer a year and a half ago.

“Who would it be? How old? Would they be completely healthy now, or would they still have challenges? Would we feel a connection?” Flash says. “To walk into the room and see this beautiful little boy, knowing that he and I share something so special, was incredible.”

UBNow asked Flash about one scene in particular, where the camera captured her wonderment as she sat on the floor with Sonny cuddled in her arms.

“To see Sonny’s beautiful smile, bubbly personality and hear that he is doing well now made my heart burst with happiness,” Flash explains. 

“His family brought a photo album of Sonny’s life, and shared pictures and stories from the time he was born, throughout his extended stay in ICU, his recovery from the liver transplant, and their first family vacation together the week before our meeting,” she says. “Learning about all that Sonny had been through really brought into focus for me that my donation truly was life-changing for him. It is an overwhelming feeling.”

Flash, who has become an advocate for organ donation, is excited to share the story with the UB community, in part because it is such a happy one, but also because she hopes it will inspire others to become a living donor.

“My experiences, both as a family member who needed a donor and now as a donor myself, have made me ultra-aware of the immense need for donors and the benefits of donation — to both the recipient and the donor,” Flash says. 

“Donation can come in many forms — liver or kidney, registering to be an organ donor, donating blood or platelets,” she says. “Every donation matters and could change the life of someone in need.”