
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993                   TAG: 9305020080
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: FAIRFAX                                LENGTH: Short

IN DEATH, ORGAN DONOR GIVES LIFE TO OTHERS

Kristen Hugues tried to write a letter of thanks to the family of 18-year-old Clifford Johnson. But how do you thank someone for the gift of life?

Hugues' husband, George, was up and walking around Friday, less than three days after surgery to receive Johnson's heart.

Johnson, who lived in Oxon Hill, Md., and attended Crossland High School, died at Prince George's Hospital Center in Maryland on April 26 of injuries he suffered in a car accident.

Johnson's kidney and pancreas have relieved Brenda Martin's dependence on dialysis machines. His second kidney went to Washington Hospital Center to aid a dialysis patient. His liver saved an unidentified mother in Herndon. And his heart now beats in the chest of Woodbridge resident George Hugues.

Hugues was facing death at age 27 because of an enlarged heart.

His 2-year-old son, Kyle, is running around his day-care center, saying, "My Daddy got a new heart!"

But Kristen Hugues is having trouble putting her feelings into words. "There's nothing in this world that compares to it. I'm overwhelmed," she said. "We can't thank them enough."

Johnson would have wanted to donate his organs, family members said.

His funeral is to be held Monday.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB