Burgaw woman loses her son, his organs saved her best friend’s life

One Pender County family is making sure the legacy of a beloved son, brother, and friend lives on after a deadly motorcycle crash.

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — One Pender County family is making sure the legacy of a beloved son, brother, and friend lives on after a deadly motorcycle crash.

Kyle Houck, 22, was riding his motorcycle on May 6 in the area of Market Street and Gingerwood Road when a vehicle pulled out in front of him, causing a crash. He remained in a medically-induced coma for more than two weeks before dying from his injuries.

“The hard part was knowing that our son wasn’t going to make it,” Kyle’s mother Kimberly Ivey said. “But also knowing that he had such a heart and he would want to give.”

Kyle’s giving heart continued to give even after his death. His parents, Kimberly Ivey and Ashley Houck, decided to let Kyle save other people’s lives since he was an organ donor.

“Kyle was always happy to help anybody who needed it. He’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it more than he did,” Ashley Houck said.

“He would want other people happy for him and to carry on him would make him happy. Being an organ donor, it’s not just going oh somebody got this, it’s helping other people live,” Ivey said.

Now, Kyle is helping one very special person. Ivey says one of her very best friends, Shanelle Batiste, has been sick and going through dialysis for years. After finding out Kyle was a donor, they tested to see if Batiste was a match.

“You sit there and you go, nah not my friend. Sure enough, they were a definite blood match,” Ivey said. “So she got the first kidney and she’s at home doing very well and recovering.”

“I know that I am supposed to be where I am, doing what I’m doing at this very moment,” Batiste said. “With his kidney, I am definitely going to live my life to the fullest the way that I am supposed to.”

As the life of one young man ends, his giving heart gives a second chance at life to Batiste and so many others. Now, his loved ones encourage others to do the same.

“Today you might need that organ, but tomorrow when you don’t, who can?” Ivey said.

“If you feel like you want your loved one to live on, to continue on, donate. See if you can enhance somebody else’s life,” Batiste said.

According to Donate Life America, more than 100,000 people are waiting on a life-saving transplant. For more information on how to become an organ donor, visit here.