Nick and Donna Hodges had their heart broken when their 10-month old baby boy Bodie died from a choking accident in 2012 but they have found comfort in the knowledge that their little boy was able to help other children survive.
After days of uncertainty, doctors informed them that their son would not be able to pull through. Despite receiving the shocking blow, the couple decided that Bodie's death would not be in vain and they signed him up for organ donation as soon as he was cleared.
In donating Bodie's liver, bowels and two heart valves, four children now have a chance to live healthy lives.
In his interview with The Mirror.co.uk, Nick shared that he received a note from the parents of the girl who received his son's liver, thanking him for helping their child survive.
"There was so much happiness for her but also extreme sadness that it had to be my son. No one ever wants to discuss what happens if.... yet the way I see it is that something good has come from something horrendous. Part of my son lives on in other children. That makes me incredibly proud."
Bodie's story was highlighted anew as a six-day old baby became Britain's youngest organ donor, saving the lives of a patient suffering from renal failure and another with a serious liver disease.
"I was so sad to hear about the six-day-old baby. But I think their parents are so brave. I want to tell them, 'Thank you. Your child will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten," Nick told the newspaper.
In 2013, Nick teamed up with Leicester Mercury's Save a Life Campaign, and helped make a video encouraging high school kids to register for organ donation by sharing his experience.
"Bodie's death is something that as a parent you can never make sense of. It is the worst thing you can go through. But, it also made no sense to not give hope to another child and their family," he said in the video, which was to be shown in city schools nationwide.
"But when you have been in a situation where any extra day with your very poorly child seems like a year, I am glad we have been able to give some hope and extra days to families. On the day when we said goodbye to our little man some families were getting a call that would change their lives forever."
Since Bodie's death, Nick has become a staunch advocate of organ donation, and started his own foundation in memory of his son, the Bodie Hodges Foundation, to encourage more people to register for organ donation.
"My Bodie was treated with the utmost respect and care – and you can save a life. With organ donation we don't need money. We just need people to sign up to the register," he told The Mirror.
