CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The family of former Charleston Police Officer Cassie Johnson is encouraging everyone to become an organ donor if they can in light of National Donate Life Month.
Cassie Johnson was shot and killed in the line of duty in December 2020 while working as a patrol officer and responding to what she thought at the time, was just a routine traffic procedure.
Her mother, Cheryl and her sister Chelsea came on MetroNews Midday Wednesday to encourage more people to be like Cassie and give back in this valuable way.
Cheryl said it’s comforting to know that her daughter lives on in some way.
“For me, it gave me a chance to still have a piece of her,” Cheryl said. “Knowing there’s people out there that have a piece of her, that’s comfort, that really is.”
Both Cheryl and Chelsea agreed, giving back to those in need always came as second nature to Cassie.
Cheryl said it was a piece of advice she always gave her that she took to heart.
“From a young age, I always told her, if you want to get along in life, you got to help others, you have to do for others,” Cheryl said.
Chelsea added that donating her organs was the last good deed that reflects her sister’s lifelong efforts of giving back.
“She was just an amazing person, she loved life, she loved helping people, she loved her job, she was just a joy to be around all of the time,” Chelsea said.
They said she also was particularly fond of animals, inspiring her first to start out as a Charleston humane officer.
Cheryl said they donated all of Cassie so that people waiting for a transplant could have whatever they needed, as being healthy and so young, she was considered one of the better donors.
However, Cheryl said that, unfortunately, they found out that the recipient who got Cassie’s heart died about ten days after the transplant. But, she said it gave him and his family at least a little more time.
“He had time to get his affairs in order and things like that, we hope, and if that’s what he need than it was worth it,” she said.
In addition, she said they have received a card from a woman who got Cassie’s kidneys, and had heard back from another woman who got her lungs. She said the woman who received her kidneys said that, because of the donation, she was able to see her daughter walk down the aisle on her wedding day.
Cheryl said they were also told that four people got their sight back because of her cornea donations.
She said it’s probably the best thing you could give after you’re gone.
“I see people that are just struggling to be alive and I think, you know, if somebody would just donate, maybe a piece of liver, or a lung when they pass, somebody else could live a little longer or have a better life,” Cheryl said. “It’s the most rewarding thing about any tragedy, it really is.”
Chelsea added that she believes her sister would be thrilled to know how much she has helped people since her passing.
“If she knew just how much she was able to help these families, it was a tragedy that we went through, but through that, we were able to experience that, and I think that would make her very happy knowing she was able to help a family that needed something that she had,” Chelsea said.