“Wow” was the first word out of Stephen Craig’s mouth. He had just taken a stethoscope from the doctor and placed it to his chest. Craig was hearing his new heart beating for the first time.

Craig, a Rio Verde resident, has been battling heart disease and congestive heart failure since 2002. That battle came to a climax in recent months as Craig was prepared and received a new transplant heart.

A registered nurse by profession and familiar with medical process, the new heart is a miracle in Craig’s mind. His gratitude for doctor’s medical staff, his caregiver wife, Corrine, is overwhelming. To him, the debt he owes to the donor and their family is unimaginable.

“With a heart transplant a phenomenal change occurs in people’s lives,” Craig said. “They tend to give back more.

“There is a deep sense of responsibility to honor the donor and the family. Do more meaningful things with your life.”

It would be meaningful for Stephen to get the word out that people can save lives by becoming organ donors.

According to Donate Live, the Donor Network of Arizona, more than 2.8 million people are registered as organ donors in the state.

“If everyone who could donate did, there would be no shortage of organs for transplant,” Craig said.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the nationwide network that manages organ donation across the country to maintain the strictest standards.

UNOS operates a national computer system with strict standards in place to ensure ethical and fair distribution of organs, according to the UNOS website. Organs are matched by blood and tissue typing, organ size, medical urgency, waiting time and geographic location.

Further information is available from either of these organizations, unos.org or dnaz.org.

The journey for Craig and his family has been a long one, and it will continue. He believes that rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure are what led to his congestive heart failure condition.

Over the past decade Craig has had a pacemaker and defibrillator to keep is heart working. Prior to transplant they were removed and a Left Ventricular Device (LAVD) was implanted as a “bridge” to the transplant of a donor organ.

Craig said the LAVD, which is essentially a mechanical or artificial heart, allowed him to do what he needed to get stronger for the transplant surgery.

The LAVD is meant to be temporary, as it was for Stephen. However, he said he is aware of one individual who has had an LAVD for about 10 years and lives a fairly normal life.

Craig said he believes that eventually the technology will be able to be placed completely within the body (currently batteries and monitoring equipment are outside the body), which would make the LAVD a potential artificial heart.

“I believe that is where this (technology) is headed,” Craig said.

Would Craig like to meet his donor family? He said he has met other donor families and would very much like to meet those who helped him.

“I’m just so thankful, I want to share the experience,” Craig said. “I had the opportunity to meet a couple of donor families and it was a very positive experience. You are able to make a connection.”

UNOS manages any contact between families. After six months, if Craig chooses, he may write a letter to UNOS requesting a meeting. The letter is filed for one year before the request is forwarded to the donor family. If they agree to a meeting it is arranged.

Craig says he is thankful to realize how many people were pulling for him and praying for his recovery. He is particularly thankful for the caregiving he receives from Corrine.

“This is just as much her journey as it has been mine,” Craig said. “She has spent long hours in the ER, made appointments, picked up prescriptions, maintained a home; it is all very exhausting.

“Caregiving and family support are essential to the process, you do not qualify (for transplant) without it.”