Mum's donor plea after son dies in tragic freak accident

Jack Berger was walking his girlfriend to the bus stop in Jersey Road in early November when he slipped and hit his head on the pavement.

He was taken by air ambulance to St George’s Hospital in London where a team of neurosurgeons were waiting to try and save his life.

“They did everything they possibly could and gave him the best chance to live,” Jack’s mother Wendy Kane said.

“They managed to stop the bleeding but his brain stem was damaged.”

Jack died at 2.17am the following Monday.

Two years ago Jack had made the decision to register as an organ donor and encouraged his friends to do the same.

“I think in the whole scheme of this tragedy it gives me comfort to know that his death went on to save other people,” Mrs Kane, a nurse at Worthing Hospital, said.

Jack’s organs, including his heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs went to patients across the country and his mother is keen to meet those who were saved because of her son.

“Within two and a half hours of his passing it gave us great comfort to know that his lungs had been successfully transplanted and saved the life of another,” Mrs Kane said.

Jack would be remembered as a caring friend and for his one-liner jokes, his mum said.

He died days before his 22nd birthday and was about to be promoted at his job in Crawley as a sales advisor.

Jack previously studied at Central Sussex College in Crawley.

Now Mrs Kane wants to raise awareness of the work done by the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Trust, which did everything it could to save Jack.

“Even though Jack’s life was unable to be saved, if it wasn’t for the work of the air ambulance and its crew it would not have been possible for organ donation to take place,” Mrs Kane said.

Jack’s mother is also calling for more people to have the tough conversation about organ donation.

People often do not think about it but you never know what will happen, she says.

The JustGiving for the air ambulance in memory of Jack can be found here.