Mother loses her son tragically, but he saved lives as an organ donor; she now tries to get more registered

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's been over four years since Dr. Ro Schmidt's young son, Giovanni, 'Gino' Polleri took his own life.

He did so, two weeks after his birthday. It was tragic, and shocking. And it's something that Schmidt carries with her every day.

"When we got to the hospital and we knew that Gino would not make it, that was the hardest situation my family has ever endured," Schmidt said.

The heartache is what, in large part, guides her in her mission to keep Gino's memory alive. Though her son struggled. He was an organ donor. After passing, he was able to save lives. Including someone close to the Schmidt family.

April is National Donate Life Month, and Schmidt continues to share her son's story that she believes will touch many more lives.

"Giovanni did check the box on his license to donate organs," Schmidt said. "At that very moment, my husband remembered that our attorney Damon needed a kidney."

Schmidt wasn't sure they'd be able to select who they wanted one of their son's organs to go to. And when a nurse told them they could, they called their attorney and friend Damon Ward right away. But they couldn't reach him.

"I had been on the waiting list for a little while and I was traveling at the time and I had just got back from visiting my sister," Ward said. "We were going to be traveling together, but I came home a little early."

Ward's sister rushed to him. And he was surprised to see her on the other side of the door, when he heard someone banging loudly on it.

"She came into the apartment and said, 'Why aren't you answering your phone?,'" Ward said. "[Because Dr. Schmidt was not able to reach me], the hospital contacted my sister, who is my emergency contact."

Ward would go on to rush back to the airport where he had just been earlier that day. And he got a flight to where Schmidt and her family were, as was Gino's kidney.

"It still overwhelms me," Ward said. "And I didn't know it was going to be like this... For people who haven't checked that box or who haven't thought about donating, the impact on people's lives is just incredible... I don't talk about the transplant every day. What I talk about is the opportunity I have every day to live longer, and better."

After failed matches, Gino changed Ward's life forever when he least expected it.

And it was hearing about Gino and Damon's story, that connected Schmidt and Michael Kutcher.

Michael, happens to be Ashton Kuthcher's brother, and is also an organ recipient. He received a heart transplant 34 years ago.

"As I started to do more and more research about organ donation and registration and the lack of registration, I came to realize that 95% of people actually support and believe in organ donation, but only 58% of people are actually registered, which to me, just boggles my mind," Kutcher said. "So it kind of set off an alarm bell for me to really advocate and start to seek out different ways that I can help."

Schmidt and Kutcher have now teamed up on a campaign. They're on a mission to register 5,000 organ donors.

"And it's really reassuring for me and humbling for me to meet Schmidt because I don't really know my donor," Kutcher said. "So for me to meet someone that was able to give that gift of life to someone else, like Damon, just shows me so much."

Through this campaign, Kuthcher and Schmidt expose and share emotional stories about organ donations, and their impact.

Schmidt and her husband live in the Austin area now, and hosted an event together in town earlier this month, continuing their mission.

If you'd like to register to be an organ donor, through their campaign, you can do so here.