Mom Found the People Her Late Son Helped Save with His Organs. Then, She Invited Them to Do His Favorite Activity: Dance

“[He] checked a box on his license to become an organ donor, and I'm alive today because of that,” one organ recipient said

NEED TO KNOW

• Cari Hollis, a Tennessee mother, connected with people whose lives were saved by her late son’s organ donations
• Her son, Austin Hollis, was a dance instructor, and Cari invited his organ recipients to learn his favorite dance in his honor
• Austin died in March 2024 at the age of 26

A woman in Tennessee invited people whom her late son saved through organ donation to do his favorite activity: dance.

Cari Hollis’ 26-year-old son, Austin Hollis, died in March 2024, according to News Channel 5. Austin, who worked as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Nashville, was a registered organ donor, and several of his organs went to help others after he died.

Cari decided that she wanted to meet the people her son helped save, and so, after locating several of them through Tennessee Donor Services and reaching out on social media, she invited them to a dance class at the studio on Saturday, March 7.

Kathleen Moran, a woman who received Austin’s lungs after being told she had only months left to live, was one of the people who attended.

"He's my angel. He's my angel that saved my life," Moran said while speaking to the outlet.

Moran, who traveled from her home in Mississippi for the special day, went on to say that she had thought about reaching out to Austin’s mother multiple times over the past two years.

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"I tried writing her several times, but every time I tried to write, it was just over. I just couldn't stop crying," Moran said.

Chip Sayers, who received a liver transplant from Austin, also attended.

“I was within hours of death," Sayers recalled of the day he received his transplant. "Austin checked a box on his license to become an organ donor, and I'm alive today because of that.”

Cari, Moran and Sayers, along with friends and loved ones, spent the day learning the bachata, which was Austin’s favorite dance to teach.

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Cari said that she has started making plans to see Moran and Sayers again.

"We've already started plans to go and visit them and their families," she added.

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