Granger Smith, wife say son's death allowed two others to live through organ donation

Granger Smith and Amber Smith visit Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas to present a donation in memory of their son, River Kelly Smith on June 25, 2019, in Austin, Texas.

Credit: Rick Kern/Getty Images

Credit: Rick Kern/Getty Images

Granger Smith and Amber Smith visit Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas to present a donation in memory of their son, River Kelly Smith on June 25, 2019, in Austin, Texas.

Granger Smith and his wife's tragedy of losing their 3-year-old son to drowning has given hope to two families whose loved ones were saved by the Smith family's selfless act of organ donation.

Amber Smith posted on Instagram that they had decided to have River Smith tested to see if organ donation would be possible as they prepared to say goodbye to their son, USA Today reported.

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"We knew River's spirit was in Heaven, but we couldn't bear to watch his tiny, earthly body be pumped full of all the medicines for 3 or more days while they searched," Amber Smith posted on Instagram.

Instead, doctors removed his organs, finding out which could be possibly donated after the procedure was finished and the organs were weighed and measured, USA Today reported.

Amber Smith spent the night laying with River before they took him to the operating room to harvest his organs and see if he could match them to someone who needed them to survive.

"The next morning family and staffed lined the hall for the "walk of honor." We told them River liked to go fast, so to honor him, they pushed him down that hall faster than they had ever pushed anyone," Amber Smith wrote.

Amber Smith said the family had been informed that a 49-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man each received organs from River. She did not specify what was donated.

"I pray these 2 recipients to live healthy, joy filled, full throttle lives just like Riv," she wrote.

Granger Smith and Amber Smith have two other children, a 7-year-old daughter London and a 5-year-old son Lincoln, USA Today reported.

A funeral for River was on June 11, People magazine reported.

For more information on organ donation, visit organdonor.gov.