Organ donor’s partner seeks contact from recipients

A WOMAN whose partner was killed in a motorcycle crash nearly two years ago wants to connect with the people who received his organs, but an expert suggests she could be opening a can of worms.

Riley Baker (26) died in Dunedin hospital after a car driven by Chinese national Limin Ma collided with his motorcycle on August 13, 2016 on State Highway 1 near Shag Point.

Ma (41), of Shanghai, later pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death.

Mr Baker’s partner, Amy McCarthy, understands that organs taken from Mr Baker were donated to six recipients.

She is appealing for any of those six recipients to get in touch with her.

Ms McCarthy said connecting with even one of them would help her obtain closure after the death of her beloved boyfriend, a talented photographer.

‘‘I just want to wrap it all up in a bow and put it aside.’’

While she had been given a lock of Mr Baker’s hair following his death, the hospital and Organ Donation New Zealand were unable to pass on the identities of the six recipients.

She understood one of the recipients was a 1yearold infant, whom she said she would ‘‘love to meet’’.

‘‘Riley would have had 60 more years . . . now they have 80.’’

After ‘‘internet trolls’’ had called her effort to find the recipients ‘‘sad and creepy’’ and an invasion of privacy, the 24yearold said she wanted to let the recipients of Mr Baker’s organs know she would not be trying to track them down, nor publicising their names if she met them.

Organ Donation New Zealand donor coordinator Janice Langlands said while her organisation could provide vague information to the donor’s family about the recipients, it had to maintain the confidentiality of both donors and recipients.

‘‘We can provide info on how they’re doing but no addresses or names.’’

However, because of New Zealand’s small size, there had been cases where the family of donors and recipients had met.

The relationship between the donor and recipient can become complicated and fraught when they meet, because the recipient could feel indebted to the donor family, she said.

‘‘[The recipient] may feel obliged to do what [the donor’s family] want even if they don’t want to.’’

Asked about Ms McCarthy’s request for the recipients of her partner’s organs to get in touch with her, Ms Langlands said ‘‘it’s a tricky one’’.

‘‘Once you’ve met, it’s hard to undo the relationship if it doesn’t go well.

‘‘In some ways, it’s easier with our [anonymous] system.’’

PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Seeking closure . . . Amy McCarthy (24) with a picture of her boyfriend, who was killed in an accident near Shag Point two years ago, is hoping his organ recipients will get in touch with her.