Saving 7 lives, after death

In what Newport Beach firefighters Friday are calling the ultimate act of compassion, one of their own saved several lives when he gave the OK to donate his organs before suffering a sudden, fatal brain hemorrhage.

Kevin Pryor, 31, donated seven of his organs — both lungs, both kidneys, his heart, liver and pancreas — to the nonprofit organ and tissue-recovery agency Onelegacy. Privacy laws prevent the organization from revealing the recipients.

“I think all of our firefighters were very proud to hear that Kevin was doing that. In fact, I know that,” said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Mais. “We’re just proud he was part of our organization, that he and his family decided to make this gesture.”

Pryor died Tuesday morning after suffering a sudden, non-traumatic brain hemorrhage Monday afternoon in his Irvine home. He was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was put on life support until he died the next morning.

Firefighters and family stayed by his side through Tuesday night, when surgeons recovered his organs.

“Kevin was the quintessential fireman. Always willing to put others above himself. It is fitting that he saved seven lives upon leaving us,” said Jeff Boyles, president of the firefighter association. “Our firefighters are in extreme pain but are taking comfort in knowing that others are alive today because of Kevin.”

Nearly 20,000 people in California are waiting for organs; 75% of them need kidneys, according to Onelegacy. Pryor’s donation is all the more remarkable because fewer than 1% of all deaths occur under circumstances allowing for organ donation, officials said.

Boyles is close with Pryor’s family and said they are extremely proud of him and his choice to donate. In the end though, surgeons required his parents’ approval.

“It’s an incredible gesture to someone else. To make that decision is an incredible thing,” Mais said. “I’ve met the family. I was at the hospital and saw what was going on. I was incredibly amazed at that [decision] and the whole family and how they conducted themselves through this tragic, tragic event. To think of donating organs, I can’t even describe it.”

Pryor suffered the hemorrhage a day after returning from Northern California, where he was part of an Orange County strike team protecting homes from the Humboldt Fire. Doctors are investigating whether that mission had anything to do with his death, officials said.

The brain hemorrhage is likely a more general description of the aneurysm Pryor was originally diagnosed with, said John Weiss, a UCI professor of neurology.

Physical defects in one of the brain’s blood vessels can cause an aneurysm in an otherwise healthy person, Weiss said. High blood pressure or stress could act as catalysts for that preexisting condition, he said.

But just doing his job at the Humboldt Fire, “that in itself wouldn’t paint the whole picture,” he said.

Public funeral services are scheduled for noon Tuesday at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church, 5801 Kanan Road, Westlake Village in Ventura County.

For more information and updates, go online to www.nbfa.org or call Matt Brisbois at (949) 644-3381.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.