A 95-year-old man from West Virginia became the oldest organ donor in U.S. history after he died earlier this month.

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Cecil F. Lockhart, of Welch, died May 4, according to his obituary. After his death, Lockhart’s liver was donated to a woman in her 60s, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education said in a news release.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the previous record for the nation’s oldest donor was 93 years old, CNN reported.

“CORE is incredibly proud to have been able to make this historic organ donation possible,” Susan Stuart, CORE President and CEO, said in the release. “This landmark in the field of transplantation is just another example of CORE’s pioneering legacy and commitment to innovation, which, over the last 40 years, has given 6,000 people in the United States the opportunity to save more than 15,000 others as organ donors.”

According to UNOS data, the first person older than 90 to donate an organ occurred in 2001, People reported. Since then, 17 people 90 or older have donated organs.

David Klassen, the chief medical officer for UNOS, called Lockhart’s donation “significant.”

“Too often, people mistakenly believe there is an age limit associated with being an organ donor,” Klassen said in a statement. “The truth is, no one is ever too old or too young to give the gift of life. Every potential donor is evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the time of their death to determine which organs and tissue are suitable for donation. Cecil’s generous and historic gift is a perfect example of that.”

According to the CORE news release, Lockhart’s family said he wanted to become an organ donor after his son, Stanley Lockhart, healed the lives of 75 people through tissue donation. The younger Lockhart restored sight to two others through cornea donation after he died in 2010, the organization said.

“(Cecil) was a generous person when he was alive, and we are filled with pride and hope knowing that, even after a long, happy life, he is able to continue that legacy of generosity,” Lockhart’s daughter, Sharon White, said in a statement on the CORE website. “When my brother was a donor after he passed away a few years ago, it helped my dad to heal. And today, knowing his life is continuing through others really is helping us through our grief too.”

A lifelong West Virginia resident, Lockhart was born on Feb. 6, 1926, in Short Pole, according to his obituary. He was the sixth of seven children and worked in the coal mines for more than 50 years. He was the owner of Lockhart Coal Company, Southern Coal Company and C&H Trucking Company, according to his obituary.

He also served as a corporal in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Lockhart’s son-in-law, Bill White, said he was proud to be a veteran, WTRF reported.

“Just as he fought for our country’s freedom 75 years ago in World War II, he would be proud to know that he’s fighting for someone else today, as an organ donor,” White said during Lockhart’s funeral service.

Family members asked that people in attendance register to become organ donors in Lockhart’s memory, WTRF reported.

According to CORE, someone is added to the national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes, People reported. More than 107,000 people in the U.S. are currently awaiting an organ transplant, the organization said.

Cox Media Group