Blount County, Ala. - You could easily describe Michael Long as the all-American boy.

"He wants to grow up and be a pro bass fisherman," Michael's father, Harold Long recalls.  "He loves the outdoors, helping anyone.  He's always pulling jokes on someone."

The father spoke of his son in the present tense, describing how others would see his son if they were to meet him before January 7, 2008.  That was the day everything changed.

Harold Long was at work when he got a call from home in Blount County.

"Around 10:00 or 10:30, we received a call that they'd had a four-wheeler accident," Long said.  "And they had helicopters coming to get him."

At first, Michael Long was alert and talking.  He was concerned about the survival of his friends.  It appeared their injuries were worse than his.  But looks can be deceiving.

"They did about three surgeries on him," Long's father said.  "They thought they had everything taken care of."

What the doctors did not know, however, was that the arteries in the back of Michael Long's neck were damaged.

"That was at the last moment when we found out that there was nothing we could do.  He was brain dead," his father said, holding tears back.  "It felt like your life was gone.  He was my son.  He was my best friend, and it hurt."

So Michael's parents decided to spare others that same pain.  A hospital chaplain asked if they would consider organ donation.  Harold Long and his wife looked at each other.

"We knew in our hearts, in our minds, that's what the Lord wanted," Long said.  "That's the way Michael would have wanted it to be, to try to help someone else."

One Year Later

In Pickens County, a young girl plays on the Gordo Elementary playground with her classmates.  The girl's name is Xena Gay.  She is seven years old, although she barely made it to even her sixth birthday.

"They told us then that her heart was in very bad shape and that she couldn't leave the hospital," Xena's mother, Elaine, recalled.  "She was going to have to have a heart transplant."

That morning, Xena had woken up in her own bed.  But it would be nearly six months before she would ever return.  She and her family could do nothing but wait at UAB Hospital in Birmingham until a heart became available.

Thanksgiving came and went.  Then Christmas.  Then New Year's.  Still, her family kept waiting.

"And you just pray that they can hold on that long," Elaine Gay said.

Then came January 8.  A young boy had been in a four-wheeler crash the day before.  He had just passed away at Children's Hospital down the street.  His family had decided to donate his organs.

The nurses at UAB told Elaine Gay her daughter's new heart was coming.

"And they (the nurses) were like, 'Yeah.'  And I was like, 'YEAH!  We got i!  So I was on the phone calling everybody," Gay recalled with laughter.

But then she thought about the family who had just lost someone, the family who had just decided to let the organ be donated.

"You also have to think about your donor," Gay said.  "The family that's grieving for their lost child.  So it's an emotional roller coaster.  You're happy; you're sad."

At that time, Gay did not know the particulars about the four-wheeler crash or the 11-year-old boy who had just passed away.  She balanced her feelings of grief for the donor's family with her feelings of sheer joy that her daughter would live.

As for Xena Gay, she does not say much about the transplant itself.  One can get the feeling Xena would prefer to be done with the attention and just live her life to the fullest.

For instance, she will quickly tell you what she wants to do in the future, like this summer.

"Swimming!  And I mean I'm gonna STAY in the pool!" Xena says excitedly.

Then, she mentions her upcoming trip to Disney World, courtesy of Magic Moments.

"I'm gonna see Minnie and Pluto, 'cause I like Pluto," she advises.

Another Gift

More than one life can be saved by the organs from a single donor.  And those who receive the organs do not have to be in the same age range as the donor.

Consider Jolan Richardson of Hoover.  She is 61 years old.  She just started a new job.  She is living a better life today, thanks to the kidney she received from Michael Long.

"When you first get a transplant, you know nothing about the person (who donated)," Richardson said.  "And you wonder, okay, is this someone older?  Younger?"

It was only later when she realized an 11-year-old had saved her life.

"When I found out the age, that really got to me," Richardson said.  "Because that was just like, 'Oh!  How can these people (his family) take it?  You know, it's so tough."

Richardson herself has three children.  She also has two grandchildren.  She can only imagine the loss Michael Long's family must have felt.

That is why Richardson is both humbled and grateful for the family's decision to donate.  She cherishes each moment she can now spend traveling to see her grandchildren.  She no longer has to spend nine-and-a-half hours a night on a home dialysis machine.

"Now I have total freedom," Richardson said.  "The only thing I have to do is take my immunosuppressant drugs, and I'm good to go.

"I think the (donor's) family feels like, 'Okay, we're going to help somebody else.  We've lost our child.  But in losing them, we're able to help maybe four, five, six, however many people,'" Richardson added.

The fact Richardson had to wait nearly seven years to receive a kidney highlights the need for more donors.  Some people can be "live donors," meaning they can continue living after donating items like a kidney.

Other donors must take steps to make sure their families know their wishes.

"Having it on your license, that's not good enough," Harold Long said.  "You need to talk to your family and see how they all feel about it.  And make sure that they know that if something happens, that's what you want."

And make sure they know how it changes other lives.

"When I hug her, it's a longer hug, you know, because we came so close," Elaine Gay said.

"They're in my thoughts and prayers every day of my life since then, and I think about them (the donor family) all the time," Richardson added.

"What more can you do for somebody than that, to donate your organs?" Long asked.

More information can be found by clicking on www.alabamaorgancenter.org.

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