Matthew Bishop loved his family. He loved playing sports, including football and wrestling. He also loved giving blood during blood drives at school. His parents, Dewey and Kristy, called Matthew a giver.
But last August Matthew attempted suicide. It was August 5, Kristy's birthday. Dewey and Kristy told WHAS11 Matthew struggled with depression.
Matthew spent two days in a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, and never regained consciousness. He died two days later. He was 21.
Since the Bishop's considered Matthew a giver, they made the decision to donate seven of his organs.
Both of Matthew's kidneys and lungs, as well as his heart, liver and pancreas, were donated to people in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.
For Christmas, Dewey wanted to meet Matthew's heart recipient. The Bishop's would later learn 42-year-old David Barber, who lives in Cincinnati, got Matthew's heart.
WHAS11 was there when the families met in Louisville in January, with the help from Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates. The Bishop's were able to hear their son's heartbeat through David.
WHAS11's Robert Bradfield talked to the Bishop's about the heartbreaking loss of Matthew and their decision to donate his organs.