Cecil Lockhart became the oldest organ donor in the United States at age 95.
A woman who is recovering from a liver transplant not only has a new lifesaving organ, but one that made history.
That's thanks to Cecil Lockhart from Welch, West Virginia, who died at age 95 on May 4, making him the oldest organ donor in United States history, according the Center for Organ Recovery & Education, which coordinated the recovery of the liver.
The previous record for the oldest donor was a 93-year-old, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.
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"CORE is incredibly proud to have been able to make this historic organ donation possible," said CORE President & CEO Susan Stuart, in a news release. "This landmark in the field of transplantation is just another example of CORE's pioneering legacy and commitment to innovation, which, over the last 40 years, has given 6,000 people in the United States the opportunity to save more than 15,000 others as organ donors."
Inspired by his son
Lockhart's family said he wanted to become an organ donor after his son, Stanley, healed the lives of 75 people through tissue donation and restored sight to two others through cornea donation after he died in 2010.
"When my brother was a donor after he passed away a few years ago, it helped my dad to heal," said Sharon White, Lockhart's daughter. "Today, knowing his life is continuing through others really is helping us through our grief too."
Lockhart's son-in-law, Bill Davis, said that Lockhart was a giving individual throughout his life. He served as a corporal in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a coal miner for more than 50 years.
"Anything he could do to help people he did. And this is just a way he's continuing to help people after his time on Earth is finished," Davis said. "If we could all be that way, I think the world would be a little bit better place for us to be in."
At Lockhart's funeral, his family asked everyone to register as an organ donor to honor his memory. Davis said some people indicated to him that they would answer that call, inspired by Lockhart's ability to save a life at age 95.
How to become an organ donor
While many people believe there is an age limit associated with being an organ donor, UNOS chief medical officer David Klassen said no one is too old or too young to donate.
"Every potential donor is evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the time of their death to determine which organs and tissue are suitable for donation," Klassen said. "Cecil's generous and historic gift is a perfect example of that."
As of February, more than 107,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the US and 17 people die each day waiting for a transplant, according to organdonor.gov.
One donor can save up to eight lives by donating a heart, two lungs, a liver, pancreas, two kidneys, and intestines.
A CORE spokeswoman said that while Lockhart was not registered as an organ donor, he was able to donate his liver because he had discussed his wishes with his family.
While expressing the desire to donate organs with family allows someone to donate, CORE encourages people to register as a donor to ensure they are able to make that impact.
You can do this by filling out a simple registration form, which asks for basic contact information and the last four digits of your social security number.
A Liechtenstein prince is accused of killing one of Europe's biggest bears, and more of this week's weirdest news
A Liechtenstein prince is accused of killing one of Europe's biggest bears
Arthur, one of Europe's biggest brown bears, is seen in Romania in this 2019 handout photo provided by NGO Agent Green.
Romanian authorities are investigating after one of Europe's largest brown bears was allegedly shot and killed by a prince from Liechtenstein.
Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein — the 32-year-old nephew of the tiny principality's reigning Prince Hans-Adam II — is accused of shooting 17-year-old Arthur in March during a hunting expedition.
Prosecutors opened an investigation Thursday on two grounds: The bear's killing was not licensed and some of those involved may not have had weapons permits, according to CNN affiliate Antena 3.
Environmental organization Agent Green believes the prince was granted a four-day hunting permit from the Ministry of Environment to shoot a young female bear that had been attacking farms in Covasna county, Transylvania.
Instead it is alleged that the prince shot Arthur, who lives in a protected area.
Gabriel Paun, the president of Agent Green, said in a statement on the group's website that he didn't understand how the prince could confuse a young bear that had been stealing chickens from a village with the largest male bear that existed in the depths of the forest.
Romania has the biggest bear population in Europe outside Russia and is proud of its ursine heritage.
It outlawed trophy hunting in 2016. However, exceptions are made in extreme cases, such as when a bear has damaged property or threatened human life.
This story has received widespread media attention in the country.
Romanian Prime Minister Florin Citu said media reports were incorrect and Arthur may not be the biggest brown bear in Europe. His response has been widely criticized.
The prince has said "he doesn't want to be involved in this sensitive matter," Antena 3 reports.
Romanians have been bombarding the website of the family's Riegersburg Castle with abuse. Travel review site TripAdvisor says it has temporarily suspended reviews of the castle.
Baby elephant rescued after falling into village well 30 feet deep
Multiple backhoes were used to demolish the side of the well and excavate a trench for the elephant to walk out on.
A baby elephant's misadventure turned into an elaborate rescue mission in a small Indian village after it fell into a well nearly 30 feet (9 meters) deep.
The calf was among a herd of elephants to enter Nimatand village from the nearby forest, in Giridih district in the eastern state of Jharkhand, late on May 2. Villagers shooed away the herd, but discovered the calf at the bottom of the well the following morning.
"Unfortunately, in the dark of the night, roughly around 9 p.m. local time, an elephant calf fell into the well," said local government official Shashikant Verma, who photographed the rescue.
A baby elephant was rescued from a well in a village in India's Jharkhand state.
"The (water) level wasn't high enough, but the calf got some buoyancy after falling and didn't get any injuries."
Villagers alerted the local forest department, which launched a rescue operation using three backhoes. Officials demolished an entire side of the well wall, eventually cutting a ramp into the earth to allow the calf to walk out on its own instead of being lifted vertically.
Eight hours later, the calf stumbled out of the well, covered in mud and dust.
Retired circus elephants get new home with plenty of room to roam
The elephants can wander around their new habitat and don't have to come back to their barn unless they want to.
After years of entertaining fans under the big top -- and a few years in retirement -- in Central Florida, a herd of former circus elephants is settling into their new home at a wildlife refuge.
The 12 female Asian elephants arrived at White Oak Conservation, outside Jacksonville, Florida, recently and were released into a forest habitat with pine trees, ponds, wetlands and open grasslands, according to an announcement from the refuge.
The elephants range from 8- to 38-years-old and had previously belonged to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.
They were all born in the United States and never lived in the wild, said Michelle Gadd, the chief of conservation for the Walter family, which owns White Oak Conservation and bought the animals from the circus.
"They are doing amazingly well. I am very surprised at how quickly they adapted to the environment, how readily they went out of the gates as soon as the gates were opened," Gadd told CNN.
She was afraid they would just hang out around their barn because they're used to being around people, but Gadd said the elephants will sleep out in the woods and venture on their own for a few days at a time.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey retired its elephants in 2016 after complaints about their treatment by animal rights groups and regulators. The circus gave its final performances in 2017 after more than a 100 years of existence.
White Oak also bought the farm where the female elephants had lived in Polk City, Florida, near Orlando, which Gadd said is much smaller and doesn't have as many trees.
The 12 female elephants range from age 8 to 38.
Asian elephants are listed as endangered with an estimated population of between 40,000 and 50,000 in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They once roamed across much of Asia but now are restricted to 15% of their original range. They are threatened by poaching, habitat loss and conflict with humans.
This elephant group has been socialized together the past two years and includes two sets of full sisters and several half sisters, Gadd said. They are also the youngest elephants and were expected to be the most adaptable.
Staff put out hay, produce and special elephant supplements around the habitat, but Gadd said the elephants are starting to eat some of the food options that are growing there.
They also like to dig up saw palmettos, and Gadd said they use the branches to scratch their undercarriage.
It took them a few days to get used to pine trees, which would spring back and smack an unsuspecting elephant in the face when they tried to snap them with their foreheads, Gadd said.
"On the first day it had scared them and one female trumpeted and ran away," Gadd said. "But by day three that tree was well and truly flattened."
The heard will be joined by up to 20 additional elephants from the Polk City farm once additional construction is completed on the 2,500 acre area. The space will be able to be divided into multiple habitats for different herds or to separate some of the elephants. It will also have three barns with high tech veterinary equipment.
The second barn is expected to be built next year, but Gadd said they aren't rushing the project.
"The elephants always take precedence," Gadd said. "So our priority is letting them settle in and be undisturbed here and have the whole place to themselves for a while without construction crews, and without disturbance, and without additional elephants even, coming right away"
Gadd said eight of the elephants at Polk City are males, who need to be kept apart by "a whole different level of fortification" of fences, barns and transportation.
"Asian males are not known to be forming cohesive groups that tolerate one another," Gadd said. "So we're not going to be moving multiple males up here until we have multiple habitats and barn spaces ready for them."
The Polk City farm is also home to some of the oldest female elephants in the US and some of them might not respond well to change, or the 200 mile trip to White Oak, which requires specially customized trucks for them and their veterinarians and handlers.
"We will continue to care for elephants there throughout their lives if they cannot be brought up here," Gadd said.
White Oak Conservation, a 17,000 acre refuge certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, is home to many rare animals, including rhinos, cheetahs and antelopes.
It has worked with state and federal agencies to save Florida panthers, Florida grasshopper sparrows, Mississippi sandhill cranes and whooping cranes, according to its website.
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