Family Hear Dead Daughter’s Heart Beating In Transplant Recipient

The emotional moment a family hear their dead daughter’s heart beating inside the heart of a teenage boy who was given it in a life-saving transplant has been captured on video.

14-year-old Katelyn Zimmerman from Florida and her 13-year-old brother Dylan were killed by a drunk driver while riding their bikes in March this year. Katelyn died on the same day as the accident, while Dylan passed away a month later after having undergone multiple surgeries for his injuries.

Katelyn and Dylan’s parents chose to donate their organs so other parents could be spared the grief of losing their children.

This week, Katelyn’s father Shawn, grandmother Charlene and twin sister Savannah got to listen to her heart beating inside another 14-year-old, Albert Jeffries, also known as Al J.

Al J had been suffering from cardiomyopathy since he was a baby, and was in a near-death state in hospital, being told his only hope of survival was a transplant.

Dad Shawn said: “It put us at peace knowing that Katelyn’s heart is still beating, even though it’s not in her.”

Al J was in tears as he said to the Zimmerman family: “Thank you for the gift of being able to see more in life.

“Thank you for letting me have a second chance. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being my miracle,” he said.

According to Katelyn’s grandmother Charlene, the teen had spoken of her desire to be an organ donor three hours before she died.