Never forget. Those two powerful words were repeated often as the United States paused to
remember the 25 th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and
Washington, D.C., that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people.
As the nation solemnly reflected on the unimaginable horror and suffering of that September morning, we also saluted the courageous heroes like the firefighters and police officers who sacrificed their lives to save others. Against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, two women came together for the first time to remember a remarkable story of life and hope that unfolded amid the tragedy. The meeting brought together 62-year-old Jill Grandas and 25-year-old Kareena (last name not used for privacy). Their lives became connected on September 11, 2001, when Grandas helped lead an extraordinary effort to save the six-month-old girl’s life. With the nation’s airspace shut down, a donor liver that Kareena desperately needed was stranded hundreds of miles away in Nashville. Grandas, executive director of Tennessee Donor Services at the time, and a team of determined strangers refused to give up, setting in motion an effort that would ultimately transport the organ to Houston and save Kareena’s life.
According to an ABC News report, Grandas searched through a Tennessee phone book until she found the number for the Federal Aviation Administration at the Nashville control tower and began making calls for help. With only hours to get the donor liver to Houston before it could no longer be used, a plan eventually came together for volunteer members of the Tennessee Air National Guard to make the flight. The crew still needed approval from Washington and waited on the runway with the plane’s
engines running. Seven minutes after receiving clearance, the military aircraft was in the air, flying through skies that had otherwise been cleared of air traffic. Grandas later recalled that despite the unprecedented circumstances, “Nobody said no, not one time.”
“To look back 25 years later and realize that complete strangers across government, military and medicine united in our country’s darkest hour to save one child’s life is such a source of pride,” Grandas told People magazine. “The true heroes of this story are the organ donor [a newborn who died the night before the attacks] and their family who, in their darkest moment of grief and loss, gave then-six-month-old Kareena the gift of life.” In the People magazine article, Kareena said the extraordinary effort to save her life has given her a lasting sense of gratitude and perspective.
“With every passing year, I feel the power of this story more keenly than before,” she said. “On such a dark day in our country, a group of strangers worked together to save a baby girl’s life.”
According to Vanderbilt Health News, Grandas and Kareena had spoken several years earlier and stayed in touch, with Kareena calling Grandas every September 11 for the past five or six years. They finally met in person on September 3, 2026, when Grandas, who has worked in organ procurement for nearly 40 years, traveled to Texas and the two greeted each other with hugs and tears before sitting together at a local park. Grandas said the meeting felt natural because of the connection they had developed over the years and the extraordinary circumstances that first linked their lives 25 years ago.
Now a law student, Kareena plans to focus her career on health policy. She has also spoken about how the gift of life she received has shaped her desire to show kindness and give back to others. Kareena reflected on that gratitude in a 2020 interview with ABC News. “I cannot express how thankful I am for this life, especially on a day when so many people lost theirs,” she said.
On 9/11, Jill Grandas believed Kareena’s life was worth fighting for. And the value of one life is something we should never forget.
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