North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, members of the Town Board, and Town Clerk Ragini Srivastava joined with medical professionals from Northwell Health, representatives from LiveOnNY, and heart and kidney transplant recipients to declare April as Donate Life Month in the Town of North Hempstead. Donate Life Month is a month dedicated to raising awareness and encouraging organ donation.
“There are currently over 9,000 children and adults on the lifesaving transplant list in New York alone, and nationwide, there are over 100,000 people waiting on a transplant. Each day, over 20 people die while waiting for on the transplant list – a truly sobering statistic,” Supervisor DeSena said. “I encourage residents to pay it forward and consider organ donation, an act that many religions celebrate as one final act of kindness. In signing up as an organ donor, one person can save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of up to 75 more people through tissue donation.”
At the event, multiple organ transplant recipients told their personal stories detailing how transplantation has saved their lives. Additionally, Dr. David Hirschwerk, Medical Director at North Shore University Hospital, spoke regarding the kidney transplantation center at that hospital, which was recently rate #1 in the country for one-year survival of transplant recipients by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Finally, a Donate Life flag was raised outside of Town Hall, and will stay there throughout the duration of the month. For those looking for more information about becoming an organ donor, visit www.LiveOnNY.org
