Mother of Grand Island man beaten to death finds hope in donating nearly all of his organs

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KLKN) – Matthew Bishop was brutally beaten in Grand Island on Sunday. He died on Thursday.

For his mom, Colleen, the last few days of her son’s life were agonizing, but she says that’s not where the story ends for her family or Matthew’s legacy.

Bishop described to Channel 8 what the journey to complete her son’s final wish was like.

“I knew for sure he wanted to donate it, but it just fits in with his personality that he’d want to spread the love further and have that be part of his legacy,” she said.

Colleen says the decision to donate her son’s organs was made partly due to his prognosis, partly due to family history.

“We had a family tragedy a year ago and from that experience, that opened up dialogue between us of his desires to donate,” she said.

But for the organs to be viable for transplant, once the respirator was removed, there was a time frame for Matthew to actually die to keep them usable.

“Matthew never made curfew in his life when he was growing up. So, we all were kind of concerned that God wouldn’t grant that,” said Colleen.

Surrounded by his parents and three siblings, Matthew took his final breath just in time.

“We were kind of coming down to the wire actually and I just reached, leaned down and whispered in his ear. I said, if you want to share your love, you need to let go and he expired about 10 minutes before the deadline,” said Colleen.

What happened next, is what the Bishop family is calling the best-case scenario.

“They could use all of his organs, except his eyes, which were basically destroyed in this brutal attack. But that’s a minor disappointment compared to the heart, the lungs, kidneys, liver. I mean, the list went on of what they can use,” she said.

With the operating room prepped and waiting, the path to surgery was lined with family and friends who came from all over Nebraska including Lincoln, as well as the staff from CHI Health Bergan-Mercy Medical Center.

“The medical team were truly angels on earth,” said Colleen.

The family says Matthew’s organs have already been matched to dozens of recipients, and that brings them peace.

“It was hard to let him go but knowing that he’s going to be able to touch so many lives and bring them joy and happiness like he did us, that was a blessing,” said Colleen.

She says it’s definitely hard not to be angry about the way her son died, but she’s happy for all the people who will live on through Matthew’s organs, bones, skin, and even ligaments.

The family is holding a memorial in Matthew’s honor on Saturday at Platte Deutsche.

They are also planning a fundraiser to help anyone looking to become a donor get signed up and entered into their database.

If you would like to sign up, you can access the site here.