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Veterans gather in SLC to discuss importance of organ donation

Posted at 4:24 PM, Nov 11, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-11 18:24:13-05

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah veterans gathered in Salt Lake City on Veterans Day to talk about the importance of organ donation for those who served.

Wednesday, four soldiers shared their stories of how organ donation has personally impacted them.

Lt. Col. Coy Bryant of Draper was among those who shared their story. He said in 1997, at the beginning of his military career, he and his wife Caroline were expecting their first child when a tragic accident changed their lives.

While doctors were able to save his son, Caroline did not survive and became an organ donor.

“We both decided that we would be willing to donate organs,” he said. “That decision was not hard for me. It was sudden, and there was a lot of chaos, and a lot of things going on, but that decision was pretty easy, because I knew that's what she wanted."

Event organizers said they held the event on Veterans Day in order to draw awareness to veterans on the donor list and encourage everyone to sign up as a donor.

Intermountain Donor Services says 77 percent of Utah drivers age 16 and up are registered as organ donors.

To learn more about organ donation in Utah and how you can participate, click here.