Listen to this articleExecutives from a dozen Long Island auto dealerships joined a statewide effort to increase the region’s number of organ donors.
The auto dealers attended a luncheon last week at Toku Modern Asian in Manhasset hosted by the New York State and Greater New York Automobile Dealers Associations, Donate Life New York State and state Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mark Schroeder to launch the “Drive for Life” campaign.
The initiative is aimed at improving Long Island’s organ donation rates. About 46 percent of eligible residents on Long Island are registered organ and tissue donors, which trails the national average of 64 percent, according to a statement from Donate Life.
Recognizing the impact of organ, eye and tissue donation, auto dealers across the state are raising awareness about the issue, according to the statement. In recognizing April as “Donate Life Month,” the members of the auto dealers trade groups are engaging in registration drives and promotional efforts to highlight the life-saving potential of organ and tissue donation.
“There is no greater gift than the gift of life, and we are eager to continue partnering with Donate Life NYS to find new ways to increase registration rates across New York,” Schroeder said in the statement. “The majority of New Yorkers who sign up become organ, eye and tissue donors do so through the DMV, and we are hopeful that the launch of the ‘Drive for Life’ campaign will prove successful in growing the registry even more. Our combined efforts have the potential to save and heal countless lives.”
Last month, the DMV announced that customers registering a vehicle at a DMV office will now be asked to consider joining the organ donor registry. The question will be displayed on the transaction screen before the customer completes their registration.
In January, Matt Carlson, general manager of Rallye BMW in Westbury, underwent a life-saving kidney transplant thanks to a kidney donation from his daughter, Stephanie Carlson Trotti, according to the statement.
“Earlier this year, we worked with Donate Life NYS to highlight how important organ donation is when one of the members of our Rallye family, the GM of Rallye BMW, received a life-saving kidney donation from his daughter,” Juliana Terian, president and CEO of Rallye Motor Company, said in the statement. “Taking the next step with my esteemed colleagues in the auto industry on Long Island to utilize our positions in the communities we serve to promote the organ and tissue registry is a logical next step. There is nothing more vitally important than saving lives and we are honored to be part of this campaign.”
More than 103,000 Americans, including nearly 8,000 New Yorkers, are currently on the waitlist for an organ transplant. While nearly 3,300 New Yorkers were saved in 2023 through organ donation, roughly 400 people on the transplant waitlist die each year due to a shortage of donors. In Nassau County, only about 40 percent of eligible residents are registered organ and tissue donors, while the rate in Suffolk County is 52 percent, both still behind the national average, according to Donate Life.