Discovery

Team Stony Brook Signs Up over 500 New Yorkers During Donor Enrollment Day Potentially Saving over 4100 Lives

NY ranks 50th in U.S. for state percentage of registered organ donors; Hospital increases efforts to change devastating stats

(left to right): New York State Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci ; Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright ; Cathy Ryan, mother of donor; Tom Callaghan , Kidney Transplant Recipient; Sandra Garcia, Kidney Transplant Recipient; Dawn Francisquini RN BSN, Transplant Senior Specialist, Stony Brook University Department of Transplants; Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone; and Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, MACP, Senior Vice President, Health Sciences, and Dean, Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

October 8, 2015 –In New York State alone, over 10,000 people are waiting for organ transplants, according to LiveOnNY (formally the New York Organ Donor Network). Statewide someone dies every 18 hours while waiting for an organ transplant. Currently, more than 8,400 New Yorkers await kidney transplants, over 1,200 need liver transplants, and more than 350 need heart transplants – making the Empire State ranked the lowest state in registered organ donors in the country.

These devastating statistics prompted Stony Brook Medicine to take action and join LiveOnNY in Donor Enrollment Day. Doctors, organ recipients, donor families, government officials, hospital administration, and members of the transplant team gathered in the lobby of Stony Brook University Hospital on Tuesday, October 6, to kick-off the day and raise awareness about the importance of becoming a registered organ donor.

Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, MACP, Senior Vice President, Health Sciences, and Dean, Stony Brook University School of Medicine

“Organ transplantation is truly a gift of life,” said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, MACP, Senior Vice President, Health Sciences, and Dean, Stony Brook University School of Medicine. “Stony Brook Medicine currently has about 300 patients on the Kidney Transplant wait list. Every year we add about 150 new patients to that list, and yet we only do about 65-70 transplants per year. There is a real lack of suitable organs donors and these patients, their families need our support. I know New York State can do better.”

Dr. Kaushansky pulled out his driver’s license showing that he is a registered organ donor, and urged everyone to register if they haven’t already.

Stony Brook University student signs up to become a registered organ donor

Throughout the day on Tuesday, Team Stony Brook had three sign-up locations – Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook University and the Smith Haven Mall. The team’s efforts resulted in 519 new organ donor registrants, potentially saving nearly 4,100 lives.

For more information on organ donation, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/patientcare/organdonation.