The State - News from Jan. 17, 1986

Transplant patient Donna Ashlock thanked the 15-year-old school friend whose heart she received and said she hopes his act can serve as an example for others. The 14-year-old Patterson girl is in good condition and showing no signs of rejecting the organ that replaced her diseased heart on Jan. 5, a day after her friend, Felipe Garza, died from a broken blood vessel in his head. “I hope that what Peno (Felipe) did shows how people can help each other,” Donna said in a statement released by Pacifc Medical Center in San Francisco. “I was surprised when dad told me about Peno and what he had done for me. I felt very sad but thankful for what he did.” Donna said she was afraid when doctors told her she needed a transplant because of degenerative heart disease. “I didn’t want it, but they told me I had to have it. . .I was scared, but it had to be done, so I did it.”