Family Meets Recipient Of Son's Heart

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- One family's gift this holiday season is something few can imagine – they met the recipient of their son's heart.

Karen and Don Brill, originally from Mount Washington, met 51-year-old "Louis" in Nevada on Dec. 11. Louis did not want his last name published. Karen Brill says it was "an amazing" experience as she listened to the heartbeat with a stethoscope.

The family moved from Pittsburgh to Nevada about 13 years ago. In February of 2009, 16-year-old Aric, a charitable, athletic and gifted teen, was gunned down during a robbery in Las Vegas.

The gunman, a suspected gang member, is still on the run. After his death, Aric's heart, kidneys, pancreas, liver and lung were donated.

Karen Brill is in town visiting relatives for the holidays and raising awareness about organ donation.

"If somebody can't use their organs anymore, other people can," she told KDKA's Kym Gable. "You know, life goes on and Aric's life goes on through other people."