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Organ donation marks soldier's final sacrifice

"This is what he signed up for. He's a real American hero," Tennessee Army National Guardsman Matthan Fish's father said.

A Tennessee soldier is saving lives, even after his death.

Matthan Fish, who served as a non-commissioned officer with the Tennessee Army National Guard, died Tuesday after being on life support for days following a traumatic motorcycle crash last week. Because he had chosen to be an organ donor, a veteran will receive Fish's kidney, up to 50 people will benefit from tissue donation and up to eight people will receive lifesaving organ transplants.

"This is what he signed up for. He's a real American hero," Fish's father Robert Fish said.

28-year-old Matthan Fish was a driver in Fox troop 2-278 and served in Iraq. His father said he trained countless other soldiers, including the one who revived him the night of the motorcycle wreck.

The soldier was riding on the back of Fish's motorcycle when they crashed last week in Cumberland County.

"Matthan's body was laying over there in the ditch, lifeless. So his friend ran over there, then he began CPR, got Matthan breathing again," Robert Fish said. "Matthan trained him how to saves lives and here he saves Matthan's life and got him to this hospital alive so I could talk to him before he left."

Robert Fish said more than 100 soldiers visited his son while he was on life support, and each shared how he had shaped their lives.

"Some said 'that's my brother.' And some said 'that's my dad.' And that boy on the motorcycle, he said 'that was the only dad I ever had,'" Robert Fish said.

Fish had chosen to be an organ donor on his driver's license.

Billy Jarvis with Tennessee Donor Services says more than 3,000 people in Tennessee are waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

Fish's family has arranged for a veteran to receive Fish's kidney.

"He was self-sacrificial," Robert Fish said. "He was an all-American hero, and I mean that. I think he had red, white and blue going through his veins."

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