An Ohio mother says she is outraged after learning that organs and tissue from her 18-year-old son were donated — including to a hospital in Argentina — without her permission.
Andrea Mauk was traveling outside the United States when she received the kind of phone call every parent fears: her son, Damon Mauk, had been killed.
Damon, who had recently graduated from high school and was working toward getting his real estate license, died on June 24, 2023, after his car went off a road in Lucas, Ohio — roughly 140 miles from Columbus — and crashed into a tree, his mother told the New York Post.
Mauk said she was vacationing in Costa Rica with her husband and friends when her parents contacted her with the heartbreaking news.
When she finally made it back home, she said she was stunned to discover that parts of Damon’s body had already been removed and classified as “anatomical gifts,” a term used for donations intended for medical education, research and related purposes.
“I was completely devastated,” the 42-year-old grieving mother told The Post. “I went to the funeral home and couldn’t even look at him after they’d taken pieces of his body.
“They stole my son’s eyes. I didn’t want to remember Damon like that.”
Mauk said Damon’s eyes, skin, heart valves, ligaments and other tissue were removed as anatomical gifts. She later learned that his eyes had been sent to Argentina, while other tissue was forwarded to biological and research organizations.
Damon, a recent high school graduate who was studying for his real estate license, died on June 24, 2023, after his car slid off a road in Lucas, Ohio
When his mom returned from an out-of -the-country trip, she said parts of his body were missing and had been donated as ‘anatomical gifts’ to Argentina and other locations
She told the outlet that she was never contacted by the hospital, even though Damon’s records listed her as his primary emergency contact. He also was not a registered organ donor, Mauk shared.
Damon’s biological father, who Mauk said had very little involvement in his life, consented to the tissue donation of their son, she revealed.
Once she got hold of her son’s medical records, Mauk learned that the first call made after his death was to Lifeline of Ohio Organ Procurement Organization (LOOP), she told The National News Desk.
‘And they actually put a hold on his body despite not being an organ donor,’ she told the publication.
She recalled everything happening ‘very quickly’ after her son died, stating that he went from the hospital to the organ procurement center, had an autopsy, and was then returned to the county coroner’s office.
‘Not only did my son’s eyes go to Argentina to an international hospital, he also had his skin and ligaments donated to a biologics research company,’ Andrea shared.
Mauk was also met with conflicting information regarding his death, including that the procurement was performed before his autopsy and that she has several death determinations for her son.
‘I have two [death determinations] from the hospital. I have one from the autopsy that was performed in Montgomery County. And then I have a different determination of death on his death certificate,’ Damon’s mother stated.
She also initiated contact with the organ procurement organization because they never reached out to her, Mauk told the outlet.
Mauk was also met with conflicting information regarding his death, including that the procurement was performed before his autopsy
‘And then once I initiated contact is when I started asking questions about my son’s donations. And that’s when I learned that there is a category, separate from organs, that is called anatomical gifts,’ Mauk said.
The heartbroken mother is now calling on Congress to pass ‘Damon’s Law,’ a piece of legislation that she said would require informed consent for organ and tissue donation.
It would also stop donated tissue from being sent and sold to for-profit companies, Mauk explained.
‘Transparency is key when you sign up to be an organ donor. Typically for most states, it’s in the DMV. You don’t get a lot of information, and you’re not understanding what it is that you’re signing up for,’ Mauk said.
The US Department of Health and Human Services, run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced a major initiative to reform the organ transplant system on July 21.
Under it, the process has to be clear and have enforceable policies to define donor eligibility criteria. It came about after alarming practices by a major organ procurement organization came to light in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Those cases involved patients possibly not being deceased when the process was initiated, among other disturbing details.
A website called the ‘Damon Mauk Organization’ highlights the young teen’s tragic story.
Damon (pictured with his mother and stepfather) has been remembered as someone who ‘never saw strangers, only friends he hadn’t met
The page details who Damon was to those who loved him most, and draws renewed attention to organ donation rules in America.
He has been remembered as someone who ‘never saw strangers, only friends he hadn’t met,’ the website read.
Damon’s eulogy, which he wrote in the seventh grade, is also featured on the site.
‘Damon, Damon was always missing a card from the deck. He was a gentleman and he tried to stick out by being funny, even when people didn’t see him. He was sometimes weird, but his family admired him, so he was a pretty ok person.
‘He tried what he could to help others,’ he wrote.
The Daily Mail contacted the Montgomery County Coroner for comment.
