Fiorentini, LePage Celebrate Lifesaving Transplants Monday

Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini and City Councilor Colin F. LePage join individuals personally touched by organ donations during a ceremony Monday morning.

LePage’s son saved lives when he became an organ donor. The celebration commemorates those who have received or continue to wait for lifesaving transplants as well as the families of individuals who chose to be donors.

Brad Biscornet, heart recipient; Mark Miller, liver recipient; and Barry McCarthy, living kidney donor, are expected to be on hand during the ceremony, Monday, April 24, at 11 a.m., in Theodore A. Pelosi Jr. City Council Chambers. The event takes place as the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and New England Donor Services announce April as Donate Life Month in Haverhill, encouraging citizens to register as organ and tissue donors

In 2016, more than 1,033 lives were saved in New England because of the generosity of individuals who became organ donors. A statement read. Thousands more lives were enhanced through the gift of tissue donation. With the need for life-saving transplants growing every day—more than 118,500 patients are now on the U.S. transplant wait list—it is crucial to educate communities about taking action to register as donors.

There are now 110 million registered donors in the United States. Still, the number of people in need of transplants continues to rise. Ninety nine percent of individuals in the state who register to be an organ and tissue donor do so at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

To register to be a donor or for more information visit www.RegisterMe.org.