Article written by Keith Groller in Morning Call Newspaper

Grieving Parents proud of Daughter’s Heroism

It’s always remarkable to me to see how the families of lost loved ones have been able to turn their grief into vigorous fundraising activities that have helped others.Only one glimpse at our sports calendar at any given time reveals the many memorial golf, basketball, softball, baseball tournaments, etc., that have raised thousands of dollars to help others.They’re all commendable.

But Bill and Chris Hankee have the satisfaction of knowing their daughter’s passing had an immediate life-saving impact on at least five other lives and enhanced the lives of several others. That’s because Krysta Hankee was an organ and tissue donor. Hankee is the former Northwestern High field hockey standout who died in September 2007, just months after graduating from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She had just begun a job as an assistant project manager with Triangle Equities of Whitestone, N.Y. Hankee collapsed while working out in a fitness facility and died five days later.

Stunned by the sudden tragedy of their daughter, the Hankees at first didn’t know what to do when asked about organ and tissue donation.”It was like ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I didn’t know what to say,” said Bill Hankee, Krysta’s father. ”But in Pennsylvania, we can designate our choices on our driver’s license and Krysta identified herself as an organ donor. So that made our decision a lot easier.”It was a decision the Hankees are so glad they made, and one they encourage others to make as well.

They regret not knowing more about the procedure and the organizations beforehand and wish they had put something in Krysta’s obituary about organ donation.However, they are thrilled that Krysta’s decision has saved the lives of others.

”We’ve reached out to some of the recipients through the Gift of Life people,” Bill Hankee said. ”We do the reaching out because the recipients may be reluctant to do so because what was the happiest day of their lives is often the saddest day of the families of the donor.”
”We know that her liver, lungs, pancreas, and both kidneys have been transplanted to save the lives of five people,” Bill Hankee said. ”And other things, like the corneas of her eyes, have been used to enhance the lives of others. Blocks of skin have even been used by New York City firefighters.”

The Hankee family, while still missing Krysta every day, is bolstered by the fact that she has helped so many others.”We are comforted to know that her story continues through the lives of the people who have received these transplants,” Bill Hankee said. ”It’s absolutely what she would have wanted. She wanted to help people her entire life.”

This was a special young lady, the president of the National Honor Society, a volunteer at the Lehigh County Game Preserve and Germansville Fire Company and a member of various academic and extracurricular functions and committees.”She was a very engaging girl, a real go-getter” Bill Hankee said. ”She was on her way to making a real positive impact in her life.”And now she’s making a positive impact in death.

The Hankees have a memorial scholarship fund in Krysta’s name, but find themselves more and more involved with advocating the organ and tissue donor program. They will attend the Transplant Games this summer, an event sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation.”The Transplant Games are important and showcase the fact that the transplant recipients are not just surviving, but they’re actually going out and living their lives to the fullest,” Bill Hankee said.He said while 80 percent of the population believe that organ and tissue donation are a good idea, only 35 percent have gone ahead and made the declaration to be an organ donor.

”I can’t believe how much we didn’t know about this before Krysta showed us,” he said. ”People can learn so much.”

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