Jeff Ewers is a sex offender. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee with a degree in neuroscience, he was arrested for possession of materials showing the sexual abuse of children. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
While serving his sentence, he read an article by Frank Bures about living organ donors. He began to think that this could be a way to give positive meaning to a life that had gone so badly wrong.
After his release from prison and adjustment to normal life, Ewers began the process of evaluation for becoming an organ donor. He was rejected because a spinal injury that had prevented him from exercising left him insufficiently fit. Undaunted, he lost weight and improved his fitness, while also weaning himself off all medications. He was evaluated again and this time was accepted.