Anne Heche's family hopes to donate her organs after fiery car crash that left her on life support
Loved ones of actress Anne Heche had been hoping for a miracle after her crash in Mar Vista last week, but the family is now making arrangements to fulfill her wishes of being an organ donor.
Reps for the Emmy award winning actress said she's legally dead, but that her heart is still beating as doctors determine if her organs are able to be used for transplants.
It's been a week since Heche crashed her car into a house in Mar Vista. The fiery crash destroyed a home and left the actress in critical condition at a burn center in West Hills, where she never regained consciousness.
In a statement, her 20-year-old son Homer Laffoon said in part:
"After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom."
RELATED: Actress Anne Heche 'not expected to survive' after crashing into Mar Vista home, rep says
Kevin Frazier, co-host on "Entertainment Tonight" talked about Heche's history.
"It is unfortunate, it is very sad, but you know, you look at a woman who had such tremendous highs and also in her life so many tremendous lows and her life ends on this on this tragic accident," he told CBSLA.
Frazier also said that Heche was vocal about her mental health problems.
"Remember, when she broke up with Ellen, she was found wandering around and she mumbled that she might've taken ecstasy. She has been very honest about her struggles,' he said.
On Twitter, Ellen DeGeneres spoke out about Heche, her former partner whom she was with from 1997 to 2000, saying, "This is a sad day. I'm sending Anne's children, family and friends all of my love."
"That relationship that made the world go round in a circle, and at the time it was so groundbreaking," Frazier said. "You know, nowadays, no one bats an eye at a same-sex couple, but back then, in 1997, Anne said that she was going to a movie premiere and they told her that she couldn't walk the red carpet with Ellen."
Heche was an Emmy and Tony nominated actor.
"'Donnie Brasco,' 'Six Days and Seven Nights,' 'Volcano,' there was a run she had in the 90's and early 2000's," Frazier said.
Reps said that Heche was being kept on life support so doctors could determine if she was a match for organ donation. An organ transplant doctor at the University of Southern California said in every case, they have to determine if organs are healthy.
"If the organs are functional, maybe not at a 100%, they may still be able to donate those organs because the people who are in need of the organs basically don't have any function of the organ. So, there has to be...there is a threshold for functional activity of the organs to see if they're viable," Dr. Jim Kim, a surgeon at Keck Medicine USC.
On Friday, a statement on behalf of family and friends was released that read in part:
"Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend. Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact."
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating this as a preliminary felony DUI crash because there was the presence of drugs in her system, although they would not say what those drugs were. They are waiting on the results of a second blood test.
