Veteran San Diego journalist Jesse Macias died Friday of heart failure, loved ones of the longtime local figure announced.
Macias, who worked at CBS 8, was a strong advocate of organ donation – having had received two kidney transplants, himself. Former NBC 7 editor Susan Woolley donated her kidney to Macias in 2014 after doctors amazingly found her compatible to donate to her friend.
It was an experience Woolley would never forget with never-ending appreciation from Macias and his family.
"It's a new lease on life,” Macias said six months after the transplant. “I really owe it to Susie and what she did for me. I can never repay her. It just means so much to me.”
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Macias felt so blessed by the two transplants he’d received in his lifetime that he wanted to make sure that even in his passing, he would still give back. Woolley told NBC 7 that the reporter registered to donate his body for organ donation, education and research.
Jesse will be missed by the entire journalism community here in San Diego.
