Wanda Glover had a way with people. Whether she was making someone laugh, showing up for a friend, or caring for her family, to know her was to love her. At 51, Wanda’s life came to an unexpected end on March 21, 2024, following a fall. But through organ and tissue donation, her desire to help others continues.
“She was my best friend since grade school,” said Laura, Wanda’s best friend. “There was nothing I couldn’t tell her. There was nothing she couldn’t tell me. She was always the bright spot in the room. She always lit it up.”
Wanda was a cherished sister, aunt, and friend who loved babies, animals, and her family. She was also a die-hard Carolina fan who never hesitated to speak her mind or make someone laugh.
“She was like our second parent,” said her niece, Angela. “She loved babies. She loved me. She loved animals. She was a great person and a die-hard Carolina fan. She was a lighthouse.”
Her sister, Buffi, remembers Wanda as a fighter. Wanda had faced significant health challenges and multiple surgeries throughout her life, but she kept going.
“Such a fighter, a warrior of a woman,” Buffi said. “She just wouldn’t give up.”
Wanda worked as a respiratory therapist and spent her life helping others. She had also chosen to be an organ and tissue donor, a surprise to no one.
“She was able to donate her eyes,” Buffi said. “She had beautiful blue eyes. Helping people is what she wanted, in life and death. That’s what she would have wanted.”
Wanda was also able to donate tissue, including skin, which can help patients recovering from serious injuries and burns. For Buffi, knowing that someone may benefit from Wanda’s gift has brought a tremendous amount of comfort.
“I have a little shrine in my bedroom, and when I look at her, I just think about her beautiful skin and somebody benefitting from it,” she said. “If she was able to give back to help somebody move on at a point in their life when they just needed some help, that’s what I like to think about.”
Wanda’s friends and family say that donation simply reflects the person they knew. Someone who put others first and always offered a helping hand and made sure others knew how much they mattered.
“She was always the person you could call,” said her friend, Donna. “Night, day, it didn’t matter what it was about.”
Though Wanda’s loss was unexpected, Buffi described the donation process as beautiful, supportive, and kind, saying the family felt cared for from the very beginning. Today, she hopes Wanda’s story encourages others to consider donation and share their decision with loved ones.
“Why wouldn’t you be a donor? Why wouldn’t you help somebody else?” Buffi said. “Why wouldn’t you give hope to someone in life at a time when they were down?”
Wanda spent her life showing up for others, and through her decision to give, she continues to do just that.
75 or more lives can be saved and healed by one organ, eye, and tissue donor. Sign up today!