"Reg and Maggie really changed the attitude of a nation," Scarabelli said. He later translated Reg's books, articles and speeches into Italian and even arranged media tours all over Italy. Scarabelli began translating articles published in Italy into English for the Greens. In the early days of the nonprofit, Reg received a letter from a 21-year-old university student in Rome named Andrea Scarabelli. She called organ donation "honoring, humbling and haunting." Earlier this year, Curtis posted on social media a remembrance of "the privilege of portraying Maggie Green" and cited the Nicholas effect.
In 1998, the TV movie "Nicholas' Gift" aired, starring Jamie Lee Curtis. (In 2018, Nicolas' sister Eleanor was married at the site of the sculpture.) Italians donated more than 140 bells, with the centerpiece blessed by Pope John Paul II. In 1995, sculptor Bruce Hasson volunteered to build a bell tower dedicated to children who have died. "People around the world were realizing, some for the first time, the power of organ donation," Reg said. (Maggie stopped traveling as much in 1996, when she and Reg had twins, Laura and Martin.) He and Maggie started traveling anywhere they were invited to promote their cause. Reg was soon giving interviews and publishing opinion articles in countries as diverse as India, Australia and Venezuela. "Donation rates went up 30% in the fourth quarter of 1994 and rose every year for the next 10 years until they were triple what they had been before he was killed." In Italy, the impact "was almost instantaneous," Reg said. We had the chance to change the direction of organ donation."īack home in California's Bay Area, Reg and Maggie established The Nicholas Green Foundation to support organ and tissue donation worldwide. "I saw this as the biggest news story of my life. "I knew we'd been handed an opportunity," said Reg, who had earlier worked as a journalist in London and was then writing a financial newsletter. If one little body could do all that, Reg thought, imagine how many could be helped if more people became organ donors? They went to four teenagers and three adults. Maggie and Reg decided to donate Nicholas' organs and corneas. When doctors declared Nicholas brain-dead, Italians poured out their grief, from people on the street to the prime minister. Meanwhile, the sensational story – a young American shot by highway robbers in Italy because of a case of mistaken identity – rapidly generated headlines throughout the country and beyond. Over the next two days, doctors at a hospital in Sicily tried saving the boy. It lodged at the base of Nicholas' brain. Thieves thought their car was carrying jewels. Their children, 7-year-old Nicholas and 4-year-old Eleanor, were asleep in the back seat of the family's rental car. The story begins in September 1994, when Reg and Maggie Green were driving on a highway in Italy. "It's a bigger thing than I could have possibly imagined." "It's amazed me that it's touched so many different people and has lasted all these years," Reg said. Although injuries have recently kept him from what used to be a daily hike in the foothills near his home, he can be found every day answering emails, making calls or writing articles in hopes of saving and improving lives via what the Italian media dubbed "the Nicholas effect." Now 93, Reg lives in La Cañada Flintridge, California, outside of Los Angeles. It's been the source of a TV movie, the inspiration for a bell tower in California and the impetus for a campaign in Italy that could help connect more recipients with the families of their donor. Recognizing the opportunity to turn his family's tragedy into a blessing for others, Reg Green, Nicholas' father, began a quest that has changed countless lives. His heart went to a 15-year-old boy and one of his corneas to a mother who'd struggled to see her baby.
Nicholas' organs and corneas were donated to seven people. The story captivated a worldwide audience.
Instead, a random act of violence claimed his life while he was on vacation with his family in Italy more than 27 years ago. TUESDAY, Ap(American Heart Association News) - Nicholas Green should've turned 35 this year.