A Rose Garden rededication ceremony to honor Long Island organ donors took place last Saturday in Eisenhower Park.
Approximately 100 people turned out for the 16th annual ceremony — which years ago attracted just a handful of people.
“These organ donors are unselfish in a time that is tragic,” said Mike Sosna, president of the Long Island Transplant Recipient International Organization. Sosna became involved with TRIO after receiving a kidney from his father, and was named president of the organization in 2006.
“We’re here today to honor donors and donor families who have given the gift of life,” he said.
One 11-year-old recipient who attended the ceremony is actively trying to change lives. Lauren Shields, who spoke at the event, was infected with a virus that attacked her heart, said her mother, Jeanne. Lauren underwent a successful heart transplant in March 2009.
While Jeanne Shields said she is grateful that someone chose to donate their heart for her daughter to use, she added, “When you’re on the other side and waiting, it can be the most helpless feeling in the world.”
According to Sosna, 18 Americans die every day waiting for a donor organ, and 1,257 people had organ transplants in New York in 2010.
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