
(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.

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.”
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.