Needing Them Most: Organ Donation in Germany

April 20, 2011 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Paul Drees visits the grave of his son, Pvt. Steven Thomas Drees, a Peshtigo soldier who deployed to Afghanistan. He was injured when his unit was ambushed. He died at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany and his liver was most likely donated to a German citizen. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Paul Drees at the grave of his son, Steven, who enlisted in the Army before he graduated from Peshtigo High School in 2008. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Paul Drees remembers his son, who was an athlete and played basketball and other sports at Peshtigo High School. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Drees shipped out from Fort Carson on his 19th birthday. His unit - Delta Co. 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment - arrived in Afghanistan two days later. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Steven was a bundle of energy growing up, playing video games and basketball. His high school graduation photo features him with his various jerseys. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Drees signed up as an organ donor before he shipped out to Afghanistan. He had debated the merits of organ donation in a high school ethics class and his family knew his wishes. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Medic Luke Spangler (left) who tried to save Steven's life, knew Drees as a good soldier who most likely would have been the next in his platoon to be promoted. The soldier at right is not identified. Image by Meg Jones, 2011.

Soldiers wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan theater are evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The organs of those soldiers who do not survive, and are organ donors, are generally transplanted in a person who lives in Germany. Image by Meg Jones, 2011.

Major Brian Knutson (right) an Oregon Air National Guard chaplain, watches as critically ill soldiers arrive at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Image by Meg Jones, 2011.

Major Brian Knutson, an Oregon Air National Guard chaplain encourages a critically ill soldier as he arrives at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Image by Meg Jones, 2011.

Jen Von Schlichting, a deceased-donor coordinator for the Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation (DSO), displays his donor card. German has one of the lowest organ donation participation rates in the Eurotransplant system. Image by Meg Jones, 2011.

A 62-year-old man, probably from Germany, was given Drees' liver. Though some organ recipients in the U.S. meet their donors, German law is strict about anonymity. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

In Germany, organ donation is laden with historical and emotional baggage stemming from racial laws during World War II and differences in organ donation policies in East and West Germany. Image by Meg Jones, 2011.

All the Drees' family cared about was that his liver was given to someone who needed it, that something good come from something tragic. Image by Rick Wood, 2011.

Drees and Stacia Baker, his girlfriend, were expecting a baby and he was excited about settling down with his family when he returned home. They have a son Steven who many say looks just like his dad.

Pvt. Steven Drees, from Peshtigo, was asked if he wished to be an organ donor before deploying to Afghanistan. He said yes. When his unit was ambushed under heavy fire, Drees was hit and evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Most of the organs donated by U.S. soldiers at that hospital go to those who need them the most. And the people who need them the most are Germans.

Transcript

Death - and life - far from home