A central Minnesota couple is on a mission to meet all of the people who received their daughter’s organs.

Jaydan Pautzke died by suicide in September 2023 at the age of 20. Her parents recalled the paramedics attempting to save Jaydan’s life.

“It was kind of a miracle they were able to get her pulse back,” said Jayson Pautzke, Jaydan’s father. “But in the end, it wasn’t a miracle for us because she didn’t live, but it was a miracle for all the people she saved.”

His wife, Michelle Pautzke, added, “It’s pretty rare for somebody to donate all their major organs and Jaydan did.”

Jayson and Michelle of Mora, Minnesota, are both teachers.

They are now spending every school break traveling the country to meet the recipients of Jaydan’s organs.

Over the summer, they met 13-month-old Jaseh Sullivan, who received Jaydan’s liver. The boy’s family met the Pautzke’s at the Willis Tower in Chicago and told Jayson and Michelle that Jaseh has a sister also named Jayden.

“It was a pretty cool connection,” Michelle said.

The Pautzke’s learned Jaseh suffered from progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, a rare disorder that causes liver disease.

“He could live the rest of his life now because our daughter saved him. I think that hits me the most because he’s so young,” Michelle said.

Next, over MEA break in October, the Pautzke’s drove to Iowa to meet Shane Butler, a newlywed who had been in end-stage renal disease. Butler received Jaydan’s pancreas and one of her kidneys.

“Then the third recipient we met was Tina in Houston,” Jayson said. “We used Christmas break to fly down to Houston to meet Tina and her family. She got Jaydan’s lungs.”

Just a few weeks ago, the Pautzke’s met a fellow Minnesotan who received Jaydan’s other kidney.

Carina Vang, a 17-year-old from St. Paul, was born with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that impacts multiple body systems. Vang’s mother, Mayka Leepalao, said Carina had already had one kidney transplant but was in desperate need of another.

She had been on the wait list for the second transplant for years.

“Her function of her kidney, they were saying she may need to do dialysis,” Leepalao said. “And then unexpectedly, we got the call.”

Leepalao was surprised to receive a letter from the Pautzke’s a while after the transplant, asking to meet. They finally had the opportunity to do so in January at the LifeSource headquarters in Minneapolis.

“It just seemed kind of unbelievable,” Leepalao said. “It’s an experience I don’t think anybody can forget.”

The Pautzke’s have now met four out of the five recipients of Jaydan’s major organs.

“The heart, we haven’t heard from them yet,” Michelle said. “It’s kind of surreal that it’s her heart that’s last.”

The Pautzke’s said all they know about the heart recipient is that it is a woman in New York.

“We hope to find out if it was viable and if the person is still alive,” Michelle said. “And if so, we’ll go to New York.”

While they wait, the Pautzke’s become fierce mental health advocates, organizing suicide awareness walks, speaking at the State Capitol and creating their own suicide prevention cards.

“We leave them everywhere we go,” Jayson said.

Michelle added, “I’ve left them in airport bathrooms. I’ll leave it on a table at restaurants.”

Next to a photo of Jaydan, the cards read: “Stay; the world needs you,” followed by the numbers 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

“We know a couple people have told us those cards have saved their lives,” Jayson said.

Michelle added, through tears, “We want to talk about suicide, make sure it’s not hidden anymore, because if we’re able to talk about it, hopefully people can get the help they need.”

The Pautzke’s hope their advocacy for both organ donation and suicide prevention will help save more lives in the years to come. The couple will be speaking at a rally at the State Capitol on Feb. 24.

Friday is also National Donor Day.

According to the organ procurement organization LifeSource, 2,198 Minnesotans are on the transplant wait list right now.

LifeSource said 56% of Minnesotans with license or state IDs have checked the “donor” box and are registered. By checking the “donor” box, one person could save eight lives through organ donation and could heal more than 75 lives through tissue donation.

You can register to be an organ donor when applying for or renewing your driver’s license, when purchasing a hunting or fishing license online, in your iPhone Health App or online at Life-Source.org. 

For more information on organ donation, click here.

Here is a list of suicide prevention and mental health resources:

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988
• Crisis Text Line – Text MN to 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor to receive free, 24/7 crisis support via text message.
• Minnesota Department of Human Service’s adult mental health resources
  • DHS map and list of statewide adult mental health crisis response phone numbers
  • DHS map and list of statewide children’s mental health crisis response phone numbers
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Minnesota
• Veterans Crisis Line at 988, Option 1 or by texting 838255
• Minnesota Farm and Rural Mental Health Helpline at 833-600-2670 or by texting “FarmStress” to 898211

If you believe someone is at risk of suicide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests you:

• Ask questions about whether the individual is having suicidal thoughts.
• Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
• Seek help from a medical or mental health professional. If it is an emergency situation, take the person to a hospital.
• Remove any objects from a person’s home that could be potentially used in a suicide.
• Do not leave the person alone, if possible, until help is available.