Principal dies after bone marrow procedure to save teen

A New Jersey principal has passed away after trying to save the life of a 14-year-old boy he never met.

Dr. Derrick Nelson, the 44-year-old principal of West Field High School, fell into a coma in February after a procedure to donate bone marrow to a sick teen in France.

Nelson’s family told NJ.com that the 44-year-old educator never regained consciousness after donating bone marrow in February. His father, Willie Nelson, said his son never spoke again. Nelson’s family kept a vigil at Hackensack University Hospital, according to the NJ.com story, but he never came out of his coma. Nelson is being remembered as “a gift” to the high school and town community.

“As a committed educator he understood that he was a role model at all times,” Westfield Superintendent of Schools Margaret Dolan said Tuesday during a news conference. “He knew he was a role model for students, for the staff and for his colleagues and he never forgot that. He was a good man.”

The school’s newspaper reported in February that Nelson decided to donate his bone marrow to the teen in France after being contacted by Be the Match. The national bone marrow donor program told him that his blood might be a match.”If it’s just a little bit of pain for a little bit of time that can give someone years of joy, it’s all worth it,” Nelson told the paper then.

In a letter to parents, Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan said, “Dr. Nelson touched us all with his kindness, compassion, integrity, and endlessly positive attitude.”We hold him and his family in our hearts as we grieve this loss together and I know you join me in granting his family the privacy they have requested.”Nelson, 44, served in the US Army Reserve for more than 20 years, according to Dolan. He joined Westfield Public Schools in 2010 as the assistant principal of Roosevelt Intermediate School. He later was assistant principal and principal of Westfield High, which has more than 1,800 students.

After news of Nelson’s untimely death, a petition was started to rename Westfield High School Derrick Nelson High School. “This past Sunday Derrick Nelson the principal of Westfield high school, lost his life donating marrow to a 14 year old boy in France. This level of generosity can’t go unnoticed and this would be a fantastic way to honor his memory,” the petition post reads.

As of 6 p.m. Wednesday the petition had more than 11,000 signatures and goal was increased to 15,000.