SUGARLOAF TWP. — In front of an audience of Penn State Hazleton students, faculty and staff, a Scranton man told of enduring dialysis three days a week for four hours each day as he waited for a new kidney.
Jenn LaRegina, campus nurse, invited organ donor program Gift of Life to the campus to
Susan Koomer,, left, community relations coordinator with the Gift of Life Donor Program, talks about the importance of organ donation to Courtney Golomb and Subhan Mahmood, both sophomores at Penn State Hazelton, during a Donate Life Day program held Wednesday at the facility.
Courtesy of Ellen F. O’Connel, The Times Tribune.
raise awareness, clear up any misconceptions and help students understand what is involved in the process.
“I think students on a college campus should be aware of such a powerful thing and how easy it is to sign up to be an organ donor,” she said.
At Wednesday’s event, Tony Harding of Scranton explained that he’d received a kidney from his sister in 2002. Three years ago, doctors told him his kidneys were failing again.
“I was told I had a less than a 5 percent chance of getting a kidney,” he said.
After more than a year of dialysis, he got the phone call he’d been waiting for. A transplant hospital had a kidney for him.
“Within 24 hours, I was in recovery with a new kidney,” he said. “I’m healthy and alive and I’m an advocate for organ donation, because without it, I wouldn’t be here.”