At just 21 years old, Morgan Adams Wrenn made a lasting impression on his family, family, friends, and community in Oxford, North Carolina.
“Morgan was such a loving soul,” said his mother, Robbie Morgan Wrenn. “He never met a stranger. He always went beyond to make somebody happy. Every day he was outside, and he would just wave and smile at everybody. The Town of Oxford even named the City Employee of the Month after him.”
Before he passed on Aug. 24, 2021, Morgan had expressed to his parents that he wanted to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor—a decision inspired by his older half-brother, James W. “J.W.” Wrenn.
“J.W. was my oldest son from my first marriage, and he was also an organ donor,” said Morgan’s father, Jim Wrenn. “Organ donation has helped with healing, because think of all the lives you can help and all the love you can give somebody through donation! Both of our kids were people who would help anybody.”
In keeping with Morgan’s giving nature, his decision to be a donor has had an incredible impact, extending across the United States and even overseas. Morgan’s family recently learned the full extent of his donation: over forty grafts were created from his tissue gifts—including bone, tendon, pericardium, costal cartilage, and skin—bringing hope and healing to recipients in need. Four of the bone grafts were fresh tissue grafts—an amazing and rare bone transplant that enables new bone cell regeneration and growth.
Morgan’s gift extended further: he donated a heart valve and a vein graft to two recipients in Michigan. Heart valves are often used to help those with congenital defects, infections, or malfunctioning valves, while veins can restore blood flow for patients needing bypass surgeries, dialysis access, or coronary artery repairs. His corneas were even transplanted overseas, a meaningful gesture for Morgan’s family, who would send him postcards from their travels around the world.
“We never knew that the corneas could go overseas,” said Robbie. “When we found out, we were like, “Morgan went overseas!”
For Robbie and her husband, Jim, Morgan’s life and his gifts through organ and tissue donation have brought deep healing.
“If you’d ever met him or been around him, I learned more from Morgan than I have from anyone in my life,” said Jim. Jim remembers Morgan as a child with the patience and determination to overcome any challenge, especially in expressing himself. Morgan’s family is comforted by memories of his humor, kindness, and close family bonds—particularly with his cousin, “Sambo,” and his beloved Aunt Ruby.
“When we went and got Morgan’s I.D., he told his daddy, ‘I want a heart,’ meaning a heart on his license,” said Robbie. “He understood that you can’t take your organs with you–and you can’t! I’ll always remember mama saying, ‘God needs young angels, too.’”
Did you know? One donor can save and heal up to 75 lives! Register your decision today.
