Family shares the gift of organ donation during the holiday season

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) -The holiday season is known as a season of not just receiving but also giving.

Nationally more than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, according to the Center for Organ Recovery and Education and in West Virginia alone around 500 people are waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

One West Virginia family was able to give the gift of life amidst a devastating loss.

Anthony Maholic’s wife and mother remember him as a family man who enjoyed the outdoors.

“We were married almost 25 years. He was my teammate. We went on adventures. He could get us anywhere we wanted to go, and we had two wonderful children, Clay and Jillian, he dedicated his life to us,” Amy Maholic, Anthony’s wife said.

“Anthony was my oldest child. He was not born in West Virginia. He was born in Pennsylvania, but we moved here when he was five and he adapted to the state like no one else. He was about learning how to fish, hunt, play sports,” Candy Maholic, Anthony’s mother said.

In November 2023, Anthony started to feel sick and after tests were ran he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

After a week in the hospital, he was given medication and a life vest to wear and was sent home to recover.

The following March his family says everything changed.

“On March 3rd, we had gone out. We came back and I had gone upstairs and I came down five minutes later and he was laying on my living room floor. That was the last that we talked,” Amy Maholic said.

The family says when the decision came to donate his organs, it was a decision Anthony had made years before and encouraged others around him to make the same decision.

“It meant a lot to him because as he said, when we’re gone out of our bodies, there are so many people that are waiting for their second chance at life and being an organ donor can be that second chance at life.” Candy Maholic said.

Anthony donated both his lungs, kidneys, and his liver saving four lives, as well as donating tissue and skin for the healing of others.

Today, he is remembered on the donor wall at WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital.

The family says his decision leaves behind a legacy of generosity.

“I feel that he is living amongst us through other people. That gives me some comfort and peace knowing that he selflessly gave his organs to be able to give people a second chance of life.” Amy Maholic said.

If you are considering organ donation and would like to learn more , you can visit www.core.org.

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