Work with Sharing Network leads to informative
presentations at Borough Hall, 9 a.m.- 5p.m., Jan. 19-21
By:Roger Alvarado
South 11th Avenue resident Carl Lessing admittedly didn’t know much about organ donation a year ago, but that all changed late last year.
On Oct. 27 Mr. Lessing, 26, donated one of his kidney’s to his fiancée Danielle Ruggiero’s cousin.
"If I didn’t meet Danielle and meet her cousin and it just would have been me overhearing conversation at a restaurant or learning about a situation through a friend of a friend I would have said ‘I’ll keep your family in my prayers’ and not looked into it any more.
"That’s the way it goes for most people," he said.
Each day, 17 people in the United States die because not enough people are willing to become organ and tissue donors, and every 13 minutes a name is added to the national waiting list because that person needs a transplant, according to Tara Artesi, the Sharing Network’s community relations manager.
In August, the borough announced that it is partnering with the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network (the Sharing Network) of Springfield, a nonprofit organ recovery agency, to educate its employees about the importance and benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
On Saturday, Mr. Lessing was honored by the borough with a proclamation in his honor for his life saving efforts.
Since donating his kidney Mr. Lessing, the son of Manville Board of Education member Ken Lessing, has become an advocate for organ donation. Though he never sought the attention, he’s now using his experience to help educate others and encourage them to consider doing the same.
"I knew he (Michael) he was having a kidney problem since the beginning of the year," Mr. Lessing said. "He was taking medicine for it, but was eventually going to be put on a donor list."
According to Mr. Lessing, Michael’s kidneys were no longer able to filter out the natural toxins, which are in every person’s blood.
When he learned that Michael’s toxin levels were on the rise Mr. Lessing, who has Michael’s same blood type volunteered to get tested to see if there was a possible match.
Mr. Lessing and Michael, who is of Puerto Rican descent, found that they had the type of match that siblings would typically have.
"We were shocked and very happy," he said.
Mr. Lessing then went through a battery of tests to determine whether he’d be able to donate his kidney.
However, when it was found that he could, he wasn’t quite ready to commit.
"I was scared," he said. "I didn’t just say here’s my kidney, I did my own bit of research to make sure I wasn’t going to be putting myself at too great of a risk."
What he discovered was that there was a "one-in-a-trillion" chance that he would physically contract something that would attack his remaining kidney.
"The only danger I have is if I were ever in a car accident or received some sort of violent shock to my body," he said.
But, through his research he discovered that if he ever is in need, because he’s a "living donor" he would be given priority and moved to the top of the donor list to receive whatever organ would be necessary to save his life.
On average it takes six to eight years of being on a waiting list before receiving an organ, Mr. Lessing said.
"That put my mind and my family’s mind at ease," he said.
Since the procedure was completed at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston last October, both men have been doing well.
"He (Michael) is doing phenomenal, which has really been a boost to my ego," Mr. Lessing said. "Doctors are shocked at how quickly his (toxin) levels have dropped and has gotten pretty much back to normal. He was out of the hospital in less than a week."
Mr. Lessing says he’s back to normal.
"With the exception of my new scars, which you’d never be able to tell unless I told you, I’m normal," he said. "My remaining kidney started growing (it will ultimately double in size to compensate)."
Mr. Lessing says he’s planning on using the recognition he has received as a result of his decision to donate his kidney to work with the Sharing Network to try and compel people to donate their organs.
"I pray that there’s people out there willing to sign their donor card," Mr. Lessing said.
His message to them will be that when "they are no longer in this world they do not need their organs."
He says he’s "more than happy" to tell people about the importance of organ donation and use himself as an example of how people that donate their organs can still lead normal lives.
"At the very least look into it," he said. "Not everyone can be a donor…but there are thousands and millions that can and don’t."
The Sharing Network is a nonprofit, federally certified and state-approved procurement organization responsible for recovering organs and tissue for New Jersey residents in need of transplants. Through organ and tissue donation and transplantation, the Sharing Network saves lives, gives hope and restores physical function.
For more information about organ and tissue donation, a donor card or a donor registry brochure, call 1-800-SHARE-NJ or visit http://www.sharenj.org or e-mail at [email protected].

