Donor Registry
Organ and tissue donor – March 18, 2004, Houston
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
Julie De Rossi was 5'6" and weighed 140 pounds when she was killed by a drunk driver in Houston. Carson Palmer was 6'5" and 230 pounds when his knee was severely injured by a crushing tackle. Yet, the two have more in common than meets the eye.
Julie’s tissue donation helped the former Heisman Trophy® winner and current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback recover from his knee injury. Along with her Achilles tendon tissue, she donated her kidneys, liver, pancreas, bone, skin and heart valves, helping at least 35 people.
Julie was a free-spirited mother whose careers included racecar driving, interior design and managing musicians. Her son Aaron Hehr, mother Dorothy Hyde and sister Karen Abercrombie believe she would have been thrilled that so many people, including a famous athlete, are benefiting from her donation.
“Carson is someone who has gone after it – really lived his life with the same energy and enthusiasm and desire that Julie had in her own life. I think she’d be happy,” Dorothy says.
