Anne Heche Being Taken Off Of Life Support After Organ Recipients Found

Anne Heche is being taken off life support more than one week after she was hospitalized for injuries sustained in a horrific car crash.

A rep for the actress confirmed the latest development to NBC News on Sunday. The 53-year-old had previously succumbed to an anoxic brain injury but her heart was kept beating amid a search for organ recipients.

According to Heche’s rep, matches had been found and surgeons were set to remove and transplant multiple organs.

Anne Heche's Life In Photos

Anne Heche’s Life In Photos

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Heche was hospitalized on Aug. 5 after driving her car into a home in Los Angeles’ Mar Vista neighborhood. The crash sparked a fire that engulfed the property and Heche’s vehicle. A spokesperson later confirmed that she was in critical condition and a coma with a “significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation” and “burns that require surgical intervention.”

Following Friday’s news that Heche was declared legally dead according to California law, the “Men in Trees” star’s rep issued an update to NBC News on behalf of her family and friends.

“We have 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 message read.

Preliminary testing earlier in the week indicated that Heche had drugs in her system after the crash, but a public information officer for the Los Angeles Police Department told NBC News at the time that a second blood draw was needed to rule out any medications administered to her at the hospital.

In the wake of Heche’s passing, authorities said they had closed their investigation into the incident.

— Erin Biglow

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