ALBANY – State Senator David Carlucci (D, Nanuet) joined with organ transplant survivors and advocates in Albany on Monday to call for more funding to address what he called “the organ scarcity public health crisis in New York.”
The senator said some 9,600 people are awaiting life-saving transplants, making New York third in the nation for the number of patients on a waitlist.
He called for $750,000 in state funding to promote organ and tissue donation.
One area resident, Dave Grey, is a transplant recipient, whose journey began in 2015 and kept him in the hospital for 177 days as he awaited a new heart. “During this period in the hospital, my goal was to get me out of there and walk my daughter down the aisle, which took place in July 2016. I got my heart and I am here today. It wasn’t an easy journey,” he said. “Today I see my both grandchildren were born since I got my heart. Also, I have seen many people pass. I donate one day a week at Westchester Medical with the heart transplant folks.”
Aisha Tator, the executive director of Donate Life New York, called on the state legislature to restore the organization’s funding levels in the 20-21 budget.
