Photo Credit from Long Island News 12

By Kenneth Kim
Contributing Writer

New York currently ranks 50th out of 50 states in percent of residents who are registered organ donors. The lack of donors has resulted in over 10,000 people waiting for organ transplants throughout the state.

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, the senior vice president of health sciences, dean of Stony Brook School of Medicine and an organ donor himself, remarked “There is a real lack of organ donors and these patients, their families need our support. I know New York can do better.”

On Oct. 6, Stony Brook Medicine joined LiveOnNY on Donor Enrollment Day in hopes of recruiting new organ donors and further raise awareness about the importance of becoming a registered organ donor.

The turnout was plentiful and has the potential to save many lives. The Stony Brook team had three sign-up locations: Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook University and the Smith Haven Mall. This team ended the day with 519 new organ donor registrants which could potentially save up to 4,100 lives.