CHP's Kenyon Youngstrom Organ Donation Details Released

The California Transplant Donor Network has released details on the people who received organs from CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom.

Youngstrom was killed in the line of duty after being shot during a routine traffic stop on I-680 near Walnut Creek.

Youngstrom was an organ and tissue donor and through his death four other lives were made better.

• A 29-year-old mother from the Bay Area received his left kidney and pancreas. The woman had been listed on the organ transplant waiting list for three years.
• A 52-year-old female from the Bay Area received his other kidney. That woman had been on the waiting list since 2002.
• A 63-year-old woman from the Bay Area received his liver. There was no additional information available about her.
• A 50-year-old man received a new heart because of Youngstrom. That recipient lives in Southern California and is married with four children.

CHP Officer Hector Baiza, who was a close friend of Youngstrom, says he set an example for everyone.

"That just got to me it really touched me that Ken had four children and he's giving life to someone else who has four chiildren so he will continue on. It just shows the gifts he's given to date to these people. He sacrificed his one life and gave life to many more," Baiza said.

During the surgery to recover Youngstrom’s organs, the operating room personnel and surgeons observed a moment of silence.  Then a remembrance from his family was read where he was honored as a loving father and husband who "put God, his wife and his children first."
 
The public memorial for the fallen officer is scheduled for Thursday morning at the Mission Church in Vacaville. 

Thousands of law enforcement officers both locally and from across the country are expected to attend.

Below is a new photo released by the CHP of Officer Youngstrom. It shows him working a security detail for the Dalai Lama. His friends said being on a security detail for a dignitary was one of his favorite things to do on the job. He also worked on details for President Barack Obama, and former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.  There are more photos on Officer Youngstrom on the job in the gallery posted above (left).

Leave Comments