[Trigger Warning]
15-year-old Celina Rose Minsk was your average teenager. Her mother, Mayda, explains:
She loved her friends, she loved Jesus, and she was really involved in our church. She volunteered a lot. She was fun, happy, and everyone loved her. She was such a joy.
Celina had been diagnosed with a severe tree nut allergy when she was young, and her parents were vigilant, taking pains to ensure she avoided contact with her allergen.
As we reported at the time, one day in February 2023, Celina spent the day shopping with her mom. That evening, her father brought home a bag of cookies marked “Gluten-Free, Nut-Free” from a church group meeting.
Unfortunately, the bag was mislabeled. After one bite of a cookie, Celina’s throat began to close.
Her mom recalled:
I called 911, but the ambulance took about 20 minutes to get there. The first team wasn’t certified to intubate her, so we had to wait even longer. Once your throat starts closing, the epinephrine doesn’t help. You need to get a tube down there before it’s completely closed. They finally put her in an ambulance, but shortly after, they lost her heartbeat. I looked back and I saw them surrounding her, doing compressions. By the time we got to the hospital, they had a heartbeat back, but she had lost oxygen to her brain.
Celina’s extended family came to support the Minsks. Her Aunt Mary had the feeling her niece had slipped away on the way to the hospital:
I knew she was gone. I can’t explain it, but when we drove behind the ambulance, I felt her leave.
Mary approached a nurse and asked if they could donate Celina’s organs. The nurse responded: “It’s funny you ask me that because I wasn’t sure how to approach it with your brother and sister-in-law.” Mary said she would take care of it.
On February 22, 2023, Celine was officially pronounced brain dead by doctors at the hospital. At that time, her parents made the decision to donate her organs.
Said Mayda:
I’ve always been an organ donor, and it was a no-brainer for me to say yes. If we said no, what an ultimate waste. I believe in God, and that her spirit is with Him. It gave me some peace, knowing that she’s a hero and that she saved people, and I think she would have wanted to. She was so kind, honestly.
Two months later, the family received a letter from HonorBridge — one of 57 federally designated organ procurement organizations in the US — detailing the lives Celina had helped with the donations.
According to HonorBridge:
Her pancreas and left kidney gave new life to a man in his thirties, while her liver saved a grandmother in her fifties. A woman in her forties received her right kidney, and her lungs and intestines were recovered for research. Her corneas restored sight to someone in need, and her bone grafts will help heal countless others. But perhaps most poignantly, Celina’s heart—the very symbol of her kindness and love—now beats on in another teenage girl.
Said Mary:
When we got that letter, our whole family was in awe. The reality of it is just so amazing. In my personal faith, I believe that God can turn evil into good, and it’s like He took the worst-case scenario and made it something beautiful.
A year later, the family received a letter from Kristie Poore, the mother of the recipient of Celina’s heart. She said that without Celina’s gift, her daughter Haley wouldn’t have survived another month.
Mayda described receiving the note this way:
It was like a weight had been lifted, knowing that her heart was still beating. It definitely gave me peace. This situation felt so special, because Haley and Celina have so much in common. Haley loves to dance, they both love hair and makeup, they’re both teenage girls. They even look alike.
The families connected over social media and made plans to meet. On the weekend of February 21, 2025, Haley’s family met Celina’s at their home in Fuquay-Varina, NC.
Said Mayda:
Meeting Haley was amazing. It was interesting, hearing their perspective. I put myself in their shoes for a second, if it was Celina needing a heart. I can’t even imagine the powerlessness they must have felt.
Mayda was able to hear Celina’s heart beating in Haley, who recently celebrated her 16th birthday and is now thriving without complications.
Said Mayda:
Celina saved five lives and healed many others, and that’s just amazing. Perspective is really everything. Without organ and tissue donation, all of those people would be gone. Kids could be growing up without parents, or parents could be growing up without kids. And Celina played a part in making their lives better.
Added Mary:
Knowing what we know now, and knowing how beautiful Haley is, and how much our family loves her, it takes away the sting. It’s like when you’ve been stung by a bee, and it feels like you’re being jabbed by a long, thin needle. You’re in pain, and it burns, but then someone comes and takes the sting away—and then it’s just relief.
Here is a news report from WTVD-TV detailing Celina’s story:
Once again, we at SnackSafely.com offer our deepest, heartfelt condolences to the Minsk family for the loss of Celina. We are grateful they are taking solace in the wonderful gift of life she has given others.
Please never trust unpackaged food unless you know precisely how it was made. Be sure to always carry two emergency epinephrine devices with you and administer the first when you first suspect anaphylaxis.
