Life Stories: Any Age, Any Ethnic Group: You Are Needed

Janet Ocasio image.

Liver Recipient: Danbury, CT

Janet Ocasio received a lifesaving liver transplant while in her 50s. Grateful to her donor, Janet now volunteers for an organ procurement organization in New York City and is a member of Transplants Save Lives, a group that serves recipients, candidates, and their families.

Of Hispanic origin, Janet sees a need for the Latino community to be better represented among donors. “If Hispanics learned what the needs are and what is possible, they would respond,” she says, “because that is what we do in our community. The need for transplantation can affect anyone—young, old, male, and female in any ethnic or cultural group. Many, many Hispanics, like me, are living testaments that organ donation saves lives.”

Janet’s story is courtesy of New York Organ Donor Network, New York, NY.

“The need for transplantation can affect anyone—young, old, male, and female in any ethnic or cultural group.”

— Janet Ocasio