Mother works to educate teens on organ donation after her son’s death

Six years ago, a mother was grieving the loss of her son. Today, she has found a way to preserve his legacy.
This weekend, a new nonprofit dedicated to organ donation education founded in honor of a Morgan Hill teen who died in a 2006 car crash will be hosting an estate sale and raffle event at a Morgan Hill home.
Items to be sold are a dining room set, bedroom sets, tables, household accessories, clothing, rugs and more. The event will be held at 15295 Monterey Road on Aug. 25 and 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with raffles at 2 p.m.
Brandon’s Crossroads Foundations was founded earlier this year by Sharon Castellanos, mother of the late Brandon Castellanos who died after crashing his car into a utility pole six years ago. In an effort to “educate the public about the benefits of organ donation elections,” according to a press release from the foundation.
According to the release, there are more than 21,000 people in California on the National Organ Transplant list, but only 18 percent of California drivers are designated tissue or organ donors.
Castellanos, a registered nurse, founded Brandon’s Crossroads after Brandon chose to donate his organs right before he died.
“This selfless motivation of Brandon’s has become the cause of my life.  All of my ability and training – including a nursing degree, license and certification from San José State – is now going into Brandon’s Crossroads Foundation,” Castellanos said.
“This nonprofit will give students the information they need to make informed consent as they fill out organ donor cards with their drivers’ licenses starting as young as age 16,” she said.
Castellanos will begin working toward her doctorate in nursing this fall at a joint program from Fresno State and San José State universities, to further her skills to further promote Brandon’s Crossroads.