To the Editor:
Recently, I was with my grandsons shopping for baseball mitts. While shopping, I spotted a man wearing an interesting shirt, and though I do not remember the exact phrasing, it was along the lines of, “Organ donations saved my daughter’s life.” I approached the man and he shared the inspiring story of how his daughter’s life was saved thanks to a generous organ donor.
He said he wears the shirt to publicize the importance of what being an organ donor can do. This is a cause that is close to my heart because I have had friends both who have donated their organs, and whose lives have been saved by donors.
Because New York is a great and progressive state, I was very surprised and disappointed to find that we are ranked 47th in terms of state organ donation. That is why I was so pleased when Lauren’s Law was signed by Gov. Cuomo last October. This law changes the language of DMV application documents. The new wording on the forms says: “You must fill out the following section: Would you like to be added to the Donate Life Registry? Check box for ‘yes’ or ‘skip this question.’” This simple change of language will hopefully encourage people to save lives by becoming organ donors.
I am proud to say I am registered to be an organ donor and fully support legislation like Lauren’s Law to increase the number of people in our Registry. If you have not yet registered, please go to donatelifeny.org to find out more about this life-saving program.
Sandy Galef
Assemblywoman 95th District
