SAN DIEGO — A La Mesa man who was killed in a car accident, two years ago was honored today for helping others.
Peyton Nurse was 21 years old when he died and was a designated organ donor. After his death, he was able to save three lives including an Arizona father who was on the heart transplant list.
On Friday, it was the first time the Nurse family met Harley and Justine’s newborn girl named Peyton.
“Peyton was a name that we had picked out before Libi so when I found out my donor’s name was Peyton it was meant to be,” said Harley Duffer.
Harley Duffer’s donor was 21-year-old Peyton Nurse, a Cal State Northridge graduate from La Mesa who died in a car accident in 2022.
“The baby has a meaning and story behind her name, and we are connected as well,” said Lesley Nurse, Peyton’s mother.
Peyton carried on that love and donated his heart and kidney to the then 25-year-old father in Arizona.
Duffer was born with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), a genetic heart disorder, and needed his third heart transplant, which doctors say is incredibly rare.
“I’m standing here today because of Peyton’s love and selfless act,” said Duffer.
Peyton Nurse was known for his kindness.
“Peyton loved like Jesus because he really tried to display as close to unconditional love, I don’t think other people loved like Peyton,” said Nurse.
Peyton’s father, retired U.S. Navy Captain Nigel Nurse, spoke formally about Lifesharing, the organization that coordinated Nurses’ organ donation and this reunion.
“It’s not just about one family it’s about organ donation and how important that is,” said Nurse.
But when he talked about his son, he spoke from the heart.
“I spent quite a bit of time in the military and it always seemed that the folks that leave us are the kindest people and my son was really the nicest person I ever met in my life,” said Nurse.
That gift of kindness continues to live on as the families listen to Duffer’s heartbeat.
“It’s the heartbeat I’ve heard for almost 23 years,” said Lesley Nurse.
The strength in his heartbeat is a gift of life that has helped create a new life.
“If it wasn’t for Peyton, my Peyton wouldn’t be here. It was meant to be, there is no other way around it,” said Duffer.
Lifesharing is a federally designated organ donation procurement organization (OPO) serving San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California.
Peyton donated his heart, kidneys and lungs.
To learn more about organ donation click here.
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