Long Island organ donations increase above pre-pandemic levels

Dr. Frank Darras discusses the increase, and need, of organ donation in the Long Island Region.
A Stony Brook University Hospital patient's successful donation journey is also featured.


Stony Brook Medicine's Transplantation program celebrates its 2000th Kidney Transplant!

View here for patient stories with milestones for our program through the years.


Patient who donated her kidney to her best friend is award the Heroism Award

Dr. Wayne Waltzer and Dr. Frank Darras stand with Lisa Hentschel while she accepts the Heroism Award from the Babylon Town Board- the town’s highest honor. Lisa donated her kidney to her best friend Eleanor (also pictured below), saving her life. Lisa and Eleanor have been friends for 30 years and now share an even closer bond. Read more about their story here! 

Award


Dr. Darras interview on organ donor shortage in the U.S.

Dr. Frank Darras speaks out about the need for living kidney donors in the midst of a pandemic.


Transplant During COVID-19

A story of Dr. Frank Darras performing a kidney transplant on a patient amidst the pandemic. Read more about what that looked like on the link above! 


Ed Kranepool celebrates his one year anniversary of his successful kidney transplant

Strangers became lifesavers one year ago as two successful kidney transplants saved the lives of both Al Barbieri and former Mets player Ed Kranepool. Dr. Frank Darras, Dr. Wayne Waltzer and the living donors Deborah Barbieri (Al's wife) and Brian Cooney, are the ones to thank as we all celebrate their anniversary. Click the link above to learn about their story and where they're all at now! 


Organ Donor Enrollment Day 

This year, the Kidney Transplant Services Team at Stony Brook Medicine help enroll over 300 new organ donors! Former Mets player, Ed Kranepool, joined us as well as living kidney donor, Brian Cooney, to encourage fellow New Yorkers to enroll. Learn more about the day with the links below:

ODED 2019


FOX Sports Kidney Transplant Special with Ed Kranepool

Former Mets player, Ed Kranepool, receives a kidney transplant by our team, that also helps save another life. View the full story on the video and link below! 

Read Full Story


Chain of Healing

With four lifesaving surgeries, Stony Brook Medicine’s Kidney Transplantation Services created a kidney transplant chain that now has bound together donors and recipients in shared gratitude and friendship.

It started when Alfred Barbieri’s wife, Deborah, decided to donate a kidney to her husband. Unfortunately, her rare blood type was not a compatible match for Al. But it turned out to be a match for New York Mets legend Ed Kranepool, whose kidneys were failing. - Read Full Story

Chain of Healing

 

Honoring the Lifesavers - Kidney donors recognized at ceremony of gratitude

Stony Brook, NY, June 14, 2018 - Anyone who would give their own kidney to save someone else's life deserves a medal - in this case, the New York State Medal of Honor. Stony Brook Medicine's Kidney Transplant Living Donor Ceremony, held at Stony Brook University Hospital, celebrated kidney donors by offering them the statewide honor plus deep gratitude from their kidney transplant recipients. - Read Full Story

Living Donor Ceremony

 


 

Living Organ Donor Program Roundtable

Brookhaven, NY, May 23, 2018 - Brookhaven's Councilwoman, Jane Bonner, hosted a roundtable discussion with Stony Brook Medicine's Kidney Transplant Team regarding living organ donation. Watch the video below for more information about our Living Organ Donor Program.

 

First Kidney Paired Donation Exchange on LI Saves 3 Patients, Shortens Wait Time for Others

(L to R) Angela Danz, Dr. Frank Darras, Clinical Professor, Department of Urology, and Medical Director, Transplantation Services, Stony Brook Medicine, Tom Danz, and Dawn Francisquini, Transplant Senior Specialist, Stony Brook Medicine.

STONY BROOK, NY, MARCH 23, 2016 – Nearly 123,000 Americans are on the national waiting list for organ donation and of that over 101,000 are in need of a kidney donation. While waiting on a list could take years, patient struggle through multiple trips a week to a dialysis center.

Frank Darras hand-carried the packed-and-ready-to-ship kidney the afternoon of the surgery to a waiting courier. The courier then took the kidney onto a flight to the recipient in St. Louis.

57-year-old Angela Danz of East Islip battled kidney cancer back in 2013 and led to the removal of both of her kidneys. Now two years cancer-free, Angela thought she had the answer that would get her off that waiting list— her husband, Tom, of 36 years would donate his kidney and all would be fine. But when the medical workup came back, it found that Angela had antibodies that would reject her husband Tom’s kidney.

“We were hit with some devastating news that we weren’t a match, which was devastating for both of us,” Tom Danz told CBS New York.

The couple’s four children all stepped forward, along with family and friends, but no one was a match.

“Even though we got a denial of results, there was always hope that someone else was in the system,” their daughter, Alex Danz, told CBS New York.

So the waiting would continue for Angela, or so they thought.  

On Tuesday, March 15, Angela and Tom took part in the first kidney paired donation exchange on Long Island at Stony Brook University Hospital. This is also the first exchange for the Transplant Department at Stony Brook.

Paired kidney exchanges typically involve a donor who wants to offer an organ to a specific recipient, usually a friend or loved one, but is incompatible because of a mismatch in age, size, blood type or antigen sensitivity. Instead of giving to the original patient, the person donates to another patient who also has a mismatched donor.

Working with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the team at Stony Brook was able to find a perfect match for Angela, while Tom was a perfect match for someone else in a 3-way swap.   

Diagram

Angela received a kidney from a donor in Minneapolis. That donor had planned to donate to his family-member, but for similar reasons, the match was unsuccessful. Tom’s kidney was not a match for the family in Minneapolis, but it was a match to a man in Missouri. A couple at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri was hoping to be a match, but no success. The kidney in Missouri happens to match perfectly for the family-member in Minnesota. So in the end, there are 3 live donors giving to 3 recipients in 3 different States—saving lives and opening up spots on the donor waiting lists for others.

“We coordinated all of these surgeries at the same time,” Frank Darras, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Urology, and Medical Director, Transplantation Services told Newsday of the three-state ordeal, which involved timing kidney removals, jet flights and transplants.

In 2015, 31.5 percent of kidneys transplanted nationwide came from living donors. In more concrete figures, 17,878 kidney transplants were performed, 5,628 involving living donors. Of those living donors, 570 involved unrelated people in paired donations.

Darras told Newsday that he sees multi-state exchanges as adding a new dimension for kidney failure patients on Long Island.

Tom & Angela Danz while recovering after surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital

He performed the operations on both Danzes in a round-the-clock surgical marathon that began before 8 a.m. Tuesday with the removal of Tom Danz’s kidney and ended at 11 p.m. that day with the completion of the transplant. He said he saw the kidney already producing urine as he finished suturing it in place.

“We are thrilled that we were able to do this,” Darras said during an interview with Newsday, “because it allows us to offer our patients every possible option.”

“Not only Angela got this whole new lease on life, but there are two other patients who did as well,” Stony Brook University Hospital Transplant Senior Specialist, Dawn Francisquini told CBS New York.

Tom and Angela are feeling great and recovering from their surgeries.

“I’ve been truly blessed,” Angela said. "If it wasn't for donors, my husband included, I wouldn't be here feeling life like I've been reborn," Angela told Fox 5 in New York

 

 

About Stony Brook University Hospital:

Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) is Long Island’s premier academic medical center. With 603 beds, SBUH serves as the region’s only tertiary care center and Regional Trauma Center, and is home to the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute, and Stony Brook University Digestive Disorders Institute. SBUH also encompasses Suffolk County’s only Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center, state-designated AIDS Center, state-designated Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, state-designated Burn Center, the Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence, and Kidney Transplant Center. It is home of the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

- See more at: http://sb.cc.stonybrook.edu/news/medical/2016-03-23-first-kidney-paired-donation-exchange-on-li-saves-3-patients.php#sthash.UiieEqDr.dpuf

First Kidney Paired Donation Exchange on LI Saves 3 Patients, Shortens Wait Time for Others

(L to R) Angela Danz, Dr. Frank Darras, Clinical Professor, Department of Urology, and Medical Director, Transplantation Services, Stony Brook Medicine, Tom Danz, and Dawn Francisquini, Transplant Senior Specialist, Stony Brook Medicine.

STONY BROOK, NY, MARCH 23, 2016 – Nearly 123,000 Americans are on the national waiting list for organ donation and of that over 101,000 are in need of a kidney donation. While waiting on a list could take years, patient struggle through multiple trips a week to a dialysis center.

Frank Darras hand-carried the packed-and-ready-to-ship kidney the afternoon of the surgery to a waiting courier. The courier then took the kidney onto a flight to the recipient in St. Louis.

57-year-old Angela Danz of East Islip battled kidney cancer back in 2013 and led to the removal of both of her kidneys. Now two years cancer-free, Angela thought she had the answer that would get her off that waiting list— her husband, Tom, of 36 years would donate his kidney and all would be fine. But when the medical workup came back, it found that Angela had antibodies that would reject her husband Tom’s kidney.

“We were hit with some devastating news that we weren’t a match, which was devastating for both of us,” Tom Danz told CBS New York.

The couple’s four children all stepped forward, along with family and friends, but no one was a match.

“Even though we got a denial of results, there was always hope that someone else was in the system,” their daughter, Alex Danz, told CBS New York.

So the waiting would continue for Angela, or so they thought.  

On Tuesday, March 15, Angela and Tom took part in the first kidney paired donation exchange on Long Island at Stony Brook University Hospital. This is also the first exchange for the Transplant Department at Stony Brook.

Paired kidney exchanges typically involve a donor who wants to offer an organ to a specific recipient, usually a friend or loved one, but is incompatible because of a mismatch in age, size, blood type or antigen sensitivity. Instead of giving to the original patient, the person donates to another patient who also has a mismatched donor.

Working with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the team at Stony Brook was able to find a perfect match for Angela, while Tom was a perfect match for someone else in a 3-way swap.   

Diagram

Angela received a kidney from a donor in Minneapolis. That donor had planned to donate to his family-member, but for similar reasons, the match was unsuccessful. Tom’s kidney was not a match for the family in Minneapolis, but it was a match to a man in Missouri. A couple at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri was hoping to be a match, but no success. The kidney in Missouri happens to match perfectly for the family-member in Minnesota. So in the end, there are 3 live donors giving to 3 recipients in 3 different States—saving lives and opening up spots on the donor waiting lists for others.

“We coordinated all of these surgeries at the same time,” Frank Darras, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Urology, and Medical Director, Transplantation Services told Newsday of the three-state ordeal, which involved timing kidney removals, jet flights and transplants.

In 2015, 31.5 percent of kidneys transplanted nationwide came from living donors. In more concrete figures, 17,878 kidney transplants were performed, 5,628 involving living donors. Of those living donors, 570 involved unrelated people in paired donations.

Darras told Newsday that he sees multi-state exchanges as adding a new dimension for kidney failure patients on Long Island.

Tom & Angela Danz while recovering after surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital

He performed the operations on both Danzes in a round-the-clock surgical marathon that began before 8 a.m. Tuesday with the removal of Tom Danz’s kidney and ended at 11 p.m. that day with the completion of the transplant. He said he saw the kidney already producing urine as he finished suturing it in place.

“We are thrilled that we were able to do this,” Darras said during an interview with Newsday, “because it allows us to offer our patients every possible option.”

“Not only Angela got this whole new lease on life, but there are two other patients who did as well,” Stony Brook University Hospital Transplant Senior Specialist, Dawn Francisquini told CBS New York.

Tom and Angela are feeling great and recovering from their surgeries.

“I’ve been truly blessed,” Angela said. "If it wasn't for donors, my husband included, I wouldn't be here feeling life like I've been reborn," Angela told Fox 5 in New York

 

 

About Stony Brook University Hospital:

Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) is Long Island’s premier academic medical center. With 603 beds, SBUH serves as the region’s only tertiary care center and Regional Trauma Center, and is home to the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute, and Stony Brook University Digestive Disorders Institute. SBUH also encompasses Suffolk County’s only Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center, state-designated AIDS Center, state-designated Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, state-designated Burn Center, the Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence, and Kidney Transplant Center. It is home of the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

- See more at: http://sb.cc.stonybrook.edu/news/medical/2016-03-23-first-kidney-paired-donation-exchange-on-li-saves-3-patients.php#sthash.UiieEqDr.dpuf

 

Veteran Gets Life-Changing Organ Donation on Christmas

Stony Brook, NY, January 6, 2018 - While many were opening up their presents on Christmas morning, 53-year-old Gregory Davidson was getting a kidney transplant. Davidson, of Bay Shore, got the call early on Dececember 25th that a deceased donor was a perfect match. It came after five years of dialysis, three times a week, for four hours at a time. - Read Full Story

 



Kidney Transplant Program Featured in Award-Winning Documentary

Stony Brook, NY, December 2017 - Stony Brook’s Department of Kidney Transplant recently participated in a real-life documentary to help shed light on living kidney donation. The  documentary, titled  “Bean,” can be viewed on the FUSE network. - Read Full Story

Bean

 

 


 

 

Stony Brook Kidney Team Transplants Record Book

Stony Brook, NY, January 20, 2017 - It was a banner year for Stony Brook Medicine's Kidney Transplant Team, which set a new record of 81 transplants from living and deceased donors. - Read Full Story

 


 

Councilwoman wants to grow New York's Crop of Organ Donors

Stony Brook, NY, October 28, 2016 - Brookhaven's Councilwoman, Jane Bonner, stopped by Stony Brook Medicine to speak at the Organ Donor Enrollment Day kickoff event. Bonner shared her experience as a living organ donor and discussed the boost that New York needs in registered organ donors. - Read Full Story

 

 


 

Kidney Transplant Department Celebrates "Donate Life Month"

Stony Brook, NY, April 20-21, 2016 - April is National Donate Life Month!!!  A time to raise awareness for the need for organ donation. There are over 121,000 people on the national waiting list for organs. Over 9,000 are waiting in New York State alone; however only 27% of NYS residents are registered organ donors, in comparison to 50% of residents across the rest of the United States. Here at Stony Brook Medicine, we make every effort to help educate the community about these devastating statistics. Take a look at our staff, students, patients, and volunteers registering people onto the NYS donor registry.

donor table steve

 


First Kidney Paired Donation Exchange on LI Saves 3 Patients, Shortens Wait Time for Others

Stony Brook, NY, March 23, 2016 – Nearly 123,000 Americans are on the national waiting list for organ donation; of that over 101,000 are in need of a kidney donation. While waiting on a list could take years, patients struggle through multiple trips a week to a dialysis center. - Read Full Story 

To watch an in-depth interview between CBS' Richard Rose and Stony Brook's very own Frank Darras and Dawn Francisquini about the Kidney Paired Donation Exchange - Click Here

A truly historical event! Stony Brook Medicine's Transplant team performs its first kidney paired donation!  Opening up more opportunities for transplant for our patients.  Click the links below to see more coverage on this story:

  • Newsday                
  • CBS local
  • Fox 5                                                

darras dawn steve

 


Long Island Couple Found Their Match on Tinder!!!

Stony Brook, NY, February 2016 - It took a moment for Alana Duran to realize that this wasn't an ordinary gift from her girlfriend, Lori Interlicchio. At the bottom of the box was a message she'd seen before: "it's a match."  Alana met her girlfriend Lori on Tinder. But this match meant so much more. For Alana, who was suffering from lupus and was on dialysis, it meant someone was saving her life. Click the links below to see the full story:

 

 


Transplant Program Passes CMS Survery With Flying Colors

Stony Brook, NY, December 21, 2015 - Stony Brook’s Department of Kidney Transplant recently completed a survey successfully from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The surveyors were very pleased with their findings and we passed with flying colors! - Read Full Article

 


 

 

Organ Donation: 6 Myths that Might Change Your Mind about Giving the Gift of Life

Stony Brook, NY, March 27, 2015 - Did you know that one organ donor can save up to eight lives? And that could be extremely helpful given the fact that in New York State alone, over 10,000 people are waiting for organ transplants, according to LiveOnNY (formally the New York Organ Donor Network). More than 8,000 people await kidneys; over 1,300 need livers; and more than 300 need hearts. - Read Full Story

 

 


 

  

Last Updated
06/28/2022