Life after death

The stories have been told and will be told for some time about how much Cpl. Abel Marquez gave the people of Odessa.

Ultimately, Marquez, 32, made the greatest sacrifice. The young officer and father of two died Wednesday from gunshot wounds he received while rushing to aid two fellow officers during a Sept. 8 domestic disturbance call in western Odessa.

But the giving was not over — not by a long shot.

Although Marquez was one of three Odessa police officers to die as a result of that night’s events, three others have been given a new chance at life.

Marquez, an organ donor, gave his final gifts in the days after his death. Pam Silvestri, public affairs director for Southwest Transplant Alliance, said his liver was successfully given Thursday to a 31-year-old man in Houston.

Marquez’s kidneys were also usable for transplant, she said. One kidney was successfully transplanted Friday morning in Lubbock, while the other was expected to be transplanted there that afternoon.

Odessa police Cpl. Phillip Marquez, Abel’s brother, said his brother’s organ donation will be beneficial.

“We’re grateful that part of him is going to continue to live on,” he said. “And he’s going to continue to help the earthly community.”

Phillip Marquez said he and his other brother, Sgt. Pete Marquez, would make clear living wills in order to avoid difficult decisions for their family. They will include wishes to be organ donors.

“Our parents had to make a choice,” he said. “That’s a hard choice for a parent to make.”

Phillip Marquez was hopeful Abel Marquez’s heart could also be donated, but he said that wasn’t possible due to tuberculoses and hepatitis vaccines police officers are required to take.

The reasons for being organ donors are simple, Phillip Marquez said.

“It’s just something that, if it’s possible to help somebody, that’s what we’d want to do,” he said.

Silvestri said the Marquez family should be proud.

“Anyone being an organ donor is an amazing thing,” Silvestri said. “But for his family to donate, given the circumstances, says a lot about him and what they think about other people at a very difficult time.”

>> Texas residents can place themselves on organ donor registries one of two ways. First, by expressing their wishes when applying for or renewing a driver’s license. Or by registering at www.donatelifetexas.org.

>>All organ donation is now done by electronic registry, instead of by using driver’s license or organ donor cards.