On Tuesday, August 11th at 11 a.m. , New England Donor Services (NEDS) will host an event at Somerville City Hall to raise awareness for the importance of organ and tissue donation. Somerville Mayor Jake Wilson will join NEDS staff, local heart transplant recipient Joe Kowalski, and donor wife Kathy O’Brien, to highlight the life-saving impact of organ and tissue donation and encourage community members to register as donors.

Joe, a heart transplant recipient from Brighton, will share his transplant story to highlight the impact of organ donation. In 2023, just days after his wife suffered a stroke, Joe experienced an unexpected heart attack. After finding out heart surgery would likely be unsuccessful, Joe was added to the national transplant list. He received a successful heart transplant shortly after, returning home in early September 2023. Following six months of cardiac rehab, Joe was able to get back to doing the things he loves, like kayaking on the Charles River.

Kathy, a native to Wareham and a dedicated volunteer with NEDS, will also share her donation story at Tuesday’s event. Her husband Shawn passed away in January 2023, and donated his tissue, saving multiple lives in need. Together for nearly four decades, Kathy now shares Shawn’s story to honor his legacy as a donor and highlight its livesaving importance. Powerful stories from Joe and Kathy emphasize the ongoing need for organ and tissue donors, the importance of donor registration, and the meaningful difference donation can make for individuals and families.

This event comes as NEDS achieved a record number of transplants last year. In 2025, NEDS coordinated organ donations from 640 deceased donors resulting in 1,692 life-saving transplants. This record number of organ transplants represents the fifth consecutive year of growth and places NEDS among the nation’s top three organ procurement organizations (OPOs) by donor and transplant volume. Since 2020, NEDS has increased the number of life-saving organ transplants from New England organ donors by 65 percent. In addition, the organization’s Aftercare team provided services to 3,390 new donor families last year. In 2025, NEDS also coordinated 1,628 donor family and recipient letters, and 1,426 individuals impacted by organ donation attended NEDS-sponsored events.

New England Donor Services is a leading nonprofit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, the eastern counties of Vermont, and Bermuda. Co-founded in 1968 by Nobel Laureate Dr. Joseph Murray, who performed the world’s first successful organ transplant, today NEDS works with thousands of donors and donor families who have generously made the decision to give the gift of life. The organization’s highly skilled staff medically screen referrals for potential donations from more than 200 hospitals across the region and lead all donor authorization discussions with families. NEDS also allocates organs according to the national transplant waiting list and coordinates their transport to ensure the right organs get to the right patients at the right time. As part of its Aftercare Services, NEDS provides ongoing support and resources to donor families by offering opportunities for communication to transplant recipients, and occasions to honor, remember, and celebrate their loved ones who gave the gift of life. Learn more at https://neds.org/ or follow us on LinkedIn or on X at @NEDonorServices.