Nobody thinks about organ donation until the day a loved one’s life depends on it. Unfortunately for my family, that’s been every day since 2021, when my oldest son started suffering from kidney failure.
For 16 years, we took him to dialysis three times a week. For anyone who hasn’t experienced dialysis, it is debilitating. Each trip exhausted him so much he had to rest for ten hours. As a mother, watching my son experience that day-after-day, year-after-year – with limited power to help him feel better – broke my heart.
But on Dec. 21, 2021, his and our lives forever changed when we got that phone call we’d been waiting for 16 years, the phone call that we thought might never come. There was finally a kidney donor match. There was finally hope for a better life for my son. And ever since his successful kidney transplant, his life has transformed – he’s able to do and experience things we thought might never be possible, and I get to see his wonderful smile more often. Every single day, I’m thankful to the family whose generosity gave my son a new life.
But, despite my eldest’s newfound health, my fight goes on, as I continue to search for a match for my youngest son, who also has kidney disease and is still on dialysis. After seeing how drastically quality of life improved after receiving a kidney transplant, I refuse to give up hope of finding another match.
More than that, I want to create a world where no mother has to watch their child suffer the way my sons have. But there’s a lot of work we must do to make that dream a reality.
At 49%, New York State has one of the lowest donor registration rates in the country – trailing far behind the national average of 64%. As a result, roughly 8,000 New Yorkers are currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant, and approximately 400 New Yorkers die each year due to a shortage of donors. Increasing the number of registered organ donors in New York is the only way we can create a world where every New Yorker in need of an organ can receive a life-changing transplant.
Today, the Bronx has the lowest organ donation rate in the entire state at just 31%. In the most diverse county in New York, this has created a health equity crisis. While race is not a prerequisite for an organ donor match, it does dramatically increase the odds that someone will be a match, as important factors like blood types and tissue markers are more likely to be found among members of the same race or ethnicity. As a result, because Black and brown communities like my own often have lower rates of organ donation, we have to wait longer for a transplant, putting our lives at risk.
It’s time for the Bronx to rise to the occasion and become a leader on this issue. I know that our communities are no less generous or caring than others. But, due to centuries of medical racism leading to medical mistrust, as well as the simple fact that many of us live in urban areas and don’t drive cars (80% of organ donor sign-ups occur at the DMV), we have fallen behind. And we can’t afford to stay behind any longer.
Luckily, we’re in capable hands with Donate Life New York State, the statewide nonprofit leading efforts to increase organ, eye and tissue donation. As a result of their tireless work raising awareness and making it easier for New Yorkers to register, New York’s organ donation rates have more than doubled over the past decade, from 22% in 2014 to 49% today. And while our 31% registration rate in the Bronx must continue to improve, we’ve shown remarkable growth from the 12% we were at only ten years ago.
So we have momentum, but there’s still a lot of work to do – and that’s why I’m partnering with Donate Life. I shared my personal connection to this issue with colleagues in Albany to help spur legislative action to make it easier for Bronxites to register, and we’re working together to raise awareness and dispel misconceptions at community events. We look forward to working alongside other community leaders in the Bronx to help accomplish our goals.
Every donor has the power to save up to eight lives through organ donation and heal 75 more through eye and tissue donation. New Yorkers and our beloved Bronx community are generous – we want to help and heal each other. But not enough of us know the health equity crisis we’re facing, and the importance of registering as an organ donor.
So, please take five minutes to go to donatelifenys.org/register to learn more and register – and then ask five friends and family members to do the same. Only by coming together can we tackle this challenge and save our families, friends and fellow New Yorkers.
Yudelka Tapia represents the 86th Assembly District, which consists of the neighborhoods of University Heights, Morris Heights, Mount Eden, Kingsbridge, Tremont and Fordham in the Bronx.
