On National Donor Day, 'Have A Heart And Get A Heart' Effort Feted

NASHUA, NH — On Thursday, New England Donor Services (NEDS) was joined by local organ donor recipients and families at Nashua City Hall to honor the incredible gift of life for National Donor Day, and to bring awareness to the organization’s “Have a Heart and get a Heart” campaign.

This movement, which takes place during National Heart Month and Valentine’s Day, encourages Americans to check ‘yes’ to be an organ donor, and add a heart to their driver’s license.

The event featured Michelle and Kevin Decoteau of Mason, whose son, Daniel, donated his heart after passing away in a tragic accident. He was a candidate to be an organ donor, but had never signed up to put the designation on his license, leaving his family with a tough and unexpected decision. The Decoteau family decided to donate Daniel’s organs, which ultimately saved four people’s lives. Now they are fierce advocates for New England Donor Services, especially after meeting the Massachusetts man who was the recipient of their son’s heart.

Paul Kasindorf of Bedford, also shared his story as a heart recipient. Paul received a heart transplant in 2020 at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. A Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Aladdin Bakers Inc., Paul is able to enjoy time with his wife and feels extremely grateful for this incredible gift, and a great responsibility to “pay it forward” to help others that may be in need of organ transplant.

NEDS commemorated those who have given the gift of life, their families, and those still waiting for life-saving transplants, and encouraged others to register as organ donors. The event comes as NEDS has achieved a record number of life-saving deceased donor organ donations and transplants in its New England service area for four consecutive years. In 2024, 648 deceased donors donated organs resulting in 1,570 life-saving transplants. This record level of clinical activity places NEDS among the nation’s top three organ procurement organizations by donor volume. Since 2020, NEDS has increased the annual number of organ donors by 80 percent.

Submitted by New England Donor Services.