"The Nicholas Effect" is the story of the shooting of seven-year-old Nicholas Green. It tells how the Greens' decision to donate their son's organs saved the lives of five Italians and restored the sight of two others. It covers the murder trial, the making of "Nicholas' Gift," the Jamie Lee Curtis made-for-tv movie, the bell sent by Pope John Paul II to the Greens for their memorial tower and their unceasing campaign to bring attention to the tens of thousands of deaths caused every year by the worldwide shortage of donated organs. Running through it, like a thread, is the hearbreaking journey of Nicholas' parents and little sister to make something good come out of a senseless act of violence.
Reg Green is the father of Nicholas Green, a seven-year-old California boy, who was shot in a botched robbery during a family vacation in Italy. The decision by Reg and his wife, Maggie, to donate Nicholas' organs and corneas to seven very sick Italians, sent an electric shock around the world. Since then he has written innumerable articles on organ donation and another book, "The Gift that Heals," been interviewed by media around the world, (including Oprah, Barbara Walters and Katie Couric), and participated in making a made-for-tv movie, "Nicholas' Gift," starring Jamie Lee Curtis.