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"Viva Nicholas! Viva Nicholas!" shouts Reg Green at the dedication of a school named after his slain son. And that sums up how all of Italy feels about 7-year-old Nicholas Green, and American tourist and accidental victim of a bandit's bullet. In this highly publicized 1994 crime, would-be robbers who fired the fateful shots were not even after the Greens but were trying to intercept a jewelry shipment. Still, the bizarre story of mistaken identity is little more than a footnote to the powerful, true story of two parents' generosity and willingness to forgive - all while dealing with their boy's grim prognosis. Under the worst circumstances, Reg and Maggie Green make the most courageous decision possible: They will donate Nicholas' organs, a practice almost unheard of in Italy at that time. Since then, organ donation in Italy has increased 118 percent, giving more than 3,000 people a second chance at life. It is call "The Nicholas Effect."
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