- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Working to create a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

Johnson & Johnson.

The Fidelco Group.

Valley Bank.

Kean University.

Where Cougars climb higher.

The North Ward Center.

And by Myron and Elaine Adler private foundation, in support of the Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Media.

A print and digital business news network.

And by NJ.Com.

Keeping communities informed and connected.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi, everyone, Steve Adubato, with my colleague Jacqui Tricarico.

Jacqui, we are once again in beautiful New Providence, New Jersey, for... - The 5K Celebration of Life here at New Jersey Sharing Network, their headquarters in New Providence, like you said.

Over 3,000 people here gathered today to really give hope, to remember the gift.

The gift that is donation, organ and tissue donation.

- Yeah, we'll be talking to family members of those who've given that gift.

Folks who have received that gift, folks who care deeply about organ and tissue donation, right here, the 15th anniversary of the 5K.

Check it out.

- Uplifting music.

- We're here with the leader of the New Jersey Sharing Network, Carolyn Welsh, President and CEO of the Sharing Network.

How you doing, my friend?

- Awesome.

- All right, so you were just saying, 15th year, 15th anniversary of the Sharing Network.

Celebration of Life, the weather, the sun is coming out, that's not usually the case when we're here.

What's it usually like?

- Cold, wet, and dewy in the morning.

So this year, 15 years, sun is here, it's beautiful.

- You don't think it's an accident, do you?

- Not an accident... (Steve laughs) No coincidences in organ donation.

- Yeah, speak about where we are today and let me disclose that Carolyn is a trustee of our production company, the Caucus Educational Corporation.

And we have a long history of working to advocate for organ and tissue donation and create greater public awareness.

Where are we today in 2025?

- 15 Years, 5K Celebration of Life.

Amazing.

More people here than ever before, and 15 years for the Sharing Network.

We are transplanting and saving more people's lives than ever before.

- Tell us about your uncle, Dr.

Randy.

- My uncle, my uncle Dr.

Randy Giles, he's a great guy.

He was a trauma surgeon, and unfortunately he did pass away with an aneurysm back in 2012.

So after that, we found his organ donor and he donated all his organs and tissue, and he saved five lives with his organs and about 60 plus lives with his tissue.

So we found that out.

We're like that's amazing.

And we got involved with the Sharing Network and started doing the 5K walk every year.

I got my school involved with it.

I went to my driver's education teacher at my school, at my high school Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey.

And I told 'em about it.

I was like I feel like we should bring someone from the Sharing Network to talk to students about organ and tissue donation because on your driver's license you had to put down if you wanna be an organ owner or not.

So I feel like they should be educated about it.

And after that it worked after, it started my senior year of high school, and they still do it each year.

So they like I, they did it, they did it this year at school when I wasn't even there, so I thought it was great.

- Yeah, so you're so young, and you felt it in you that you wanted to advocate on your uncle's behalf.

What drove that for you?

- Definitely my parents, my aunt, because I started volunteering when I was around nine years old here with my aunt because I feel like, I just asked her, can we just volunteer like here?

Because I thought it would be fun for us to do together.

And yeah, we just kept doing it ever since.

And then we just added like our interests as well 'cause she was, like she was working a lot with cameras back then, and I started, I started loving cameras because of that.

So we started taking pictures on the walks as well.

- As a physician, I'm curious about this, how aware were you of the need?

'Cause there are four, as we speak here, as we do this, we've been doing this for several years.

This is the 15th anniversary of the 5K here at the Sharing Network.

I keep finding more and more people who weren't aware of the need that there are 4,000 people in New Jersey waiting.

Were you aware as a physician?

- No, I was not.

And because they really don't, as a physician, they don't teach that stuff in medical school.

So it was just by chance that Andy got sick and was, you know, I donated the kidney, and then I started finding out all the statistics about it.

- [Steve] Right.

- After the donation, Carolyn Welsh was actually the hospital services manager.

- The CEO.

- Sure, yeah.

Now she's the CEO and President of the organization.

- But she was, she was there at the time at Jersey Shore?

- Yeah, she was the Hospital Services Manager, and she, since then, she's worked herself up to the President and CEO.

But after the donation she asked me to come on the Organ Donor Council for the hospital.

And that's when I saw the statistics, and that's when I knew there was a need to be more of an advocate for donation.

- How was it that you were able to get a donated liver and a match so quickly?

- A miracle.

- A miracle.

- There's no doubt in my mind that some kind of divine intervention happened.

I'm here because of a medical miracle.

Everyone that I talked to in the medical field was like that doesn't happen.

People wait on lists for months, for years.

And I was listed about four or five o'clock on the afternoon, and by 10:00 AM the next morning I was already in the OR getting my new liver.

And that just, it doesn't happen.

- I'm sure during that time it's much of a blur for you, but coming out of all of that and understanding what happened and that you actually had someone who had passed away give the gift of life to you, the liver, what did all that, how were you able to digest all of that?

- It was by far the scariest thing I've ever been through.

But at the same time I woke up and I just felt this intense sense of gratefulness.

Like I had a greater good.

There was a reason why I'm still here.

There was still more for me to do, and hopefully to spread the message that organ donation isn't something that just impacts people that are very, very sick or people that are older, that it can touch each of our lives.

I was 40 when I was, and very healthy otherwise when I was diagnosed with acute liver failure.

So I just, I feel such an immense gratitude to still be here.

- Talk about some of the advancements we've seen in transplantation over the last couple of years.

- Yeah, sure.

I think one of the biggest areas of advancements that we've seen is in the field of organ preservation.

So prior to the longest time in transplantation, the way we preserve organs was basically on ice, cold preservation.

Nowadays with the newer technology that's available, we're able to preserve organs at a higher temperature, which makes it more safer for transplant, and it also allows us to look at marginal organs and reassess them to see if they're transplantable.

So it has really increased our utilization rates for lung organs.

- Does that help too for the distance that the organs do need to travel once there's a match found?

- Absolutely, so with that technology, we're able to travel further distances than we were in the past.

- That's wonderful, so talk about the hospital relationship with the New Jersey Sharing Network.

How important is that relationship and that synergy to make all of this possible?

- Yeah, no, it's one of the most important parts of having a transplant program is that relationship with the Sharing Network and the different OPOs because without them we would not be able to logistically find donors and get people transplanted.

- Tell us about your son, Andrew, because Team Andrew.

- Team Andrew, Andrew was a great young man looking forward to his senior year of high school, you know, getting his driver's license so he could have that freedom to be like every typical boy here in Jersey, you know, wanted to get around.

He had an infectious laugh and a smile, was very, very much a boy, Great kid, great kid.

- So in 2008, tragically.

- Yeah.

- You lose him a car accident.

- Yes.

- The gift, had you talked about?

No?

- No.

I often tell people that are going through what we went through that you don't realize the gift that you gave until years later when you can appreciate it and still talk about your child and meet the people that he saved.

And it just, for us, it just, it was, I'm very glad did it because just we learned so much about organ donation since then, obviously, and it's just amazing, and I didn't really know anything about it before, so, I'm thrilled that we made that decision for sure.

- Talk to us, Paul, as I listen to Jennifer as people listen right now, and by the way, go on the website right now.

It's up if you wanna find out more.

We've been involved in public education, public awareness for many years around organ and tissue donation.

You got, Jennifer was saying you got to meet the recipient of Andrew's heart.

- We did.

- Yes.

- In Ocean Grove on the boardwalk, we were lucky enough through the Sharing Network to meet up with our Andrew's heart recipient.

My father-in-law and I, and the whole family was there when we met him.

- His whole family was there too.

- His whole family was there.

Great gentleman.

He told us his story.

We told them our story.

I got to hear my son's heartbeat again.

And it was very emotional for me.

And my father-in-law, it was the first time I saw him cry.

And it was amazing, you know, to have that feeling, to know that this gentleman is gonna meet his grandkids, is gonna have a life because of what our son did.

It was, it was an amazing feeling.

- Tomorrow is June 9, and you're celebrating 22 years since you gave the gift of life.

You donated one of your kidneys to your father.

- I did.

- Take us back to that time.

When and how did you and your family decide that was the best course of action for your dad?

- You know, my dad was sick for quite a while, and we were on the waiting list.

Due to his rare blood type, we had quite a long wait.

And as we got to year five, year six, he was getting sicker and sicker.

At first, he wanted no part of it, and then as he got sick, you know, we just started considering it.

And I knew nothing about it at the time, and I just did a ton of research.

And that's part of why I'm so fortunate to be involved with this organization, because I feel like I'm helping to provide the information that I didn't have.

Like, I wish I had all this knowledge 22 years ago.

- Yeah, 22 years ago, so much has changed too.

- So much has changed.

So much has changed.

So we just were outta options.

He was sick and we just didn't, you know, we were still on the list.

Nothing was coming up.

And we just moved forward and I was a perfect match.

Knock on wood, wherever that is, right?

- Yeah.

- I was a perfect match.

So it just gave him the best chances of success, and we just decided to move forward.

And thankfully, everything went great.

And like I said, my kidney function is actually the same as it was with two kidneys.

Your body is amazing and it just takes over.

- So you're feeling great?

- I feel great.

- You're doing great, and you've been a part of this 5K since its inception 15 years ago.

How have you seen it change and evolve over the years?

- Oh my gosh, it's been so great.

I mean, at the beginning, our goal was something like 250 or $300,000.

And like now I'm seeing the goals go over $1 million.

And to me, like that's incredible over the 15 years and at like the first- - Just like the one event, raising that much money?

- Just one, yeah.

And then we expanded to the second event down in Ocean Grove, which just speaks to how much this organization has grown and the impact that it's making.

And I'm just so proud to be part of that impact that we can make to the community, and just raising awareness about organ donation and tissue donation.

- We're pleased for the first time to speak to Caitlin English, who's been part of this event for 14 years?

- Yes.

- Talk about the connection.

- Absolutely.

So I first was connected with the Sharing Network at 17 years old.

I'm turning 32 in a few weeks here.

I grew up in Union County a few minutes away from here, was blissfully unaware of the organization's existence.

- Had no idea?

- No idea.

Until tragedy struck when my high school sweetheart had passed unexpectedly while participating in a high school swim meet.

- That's B.J.?

- Yes, that's B.J.

Giannone, yes.

So since then, we've been participating almost annually in his memory.

B.J.

was a really charismatic 18-year-old, was about to graduate from St.

Peter's Prep in Jersey City and begin his next adventure at Virginia Tech, where he was actually intending to major in sports broadcasting.

Unfortunately, his life was cut short, and he made the most of the time that he had here and was super charismatic, outgoing.

Hence, the origination of Live Like B.J.

- What's it's like being here today?

- It's wonderful.

We've been participating for so many years, and respectively, we lost B.J.

and Diane 14 and nine years go.

So to have the momentum that we have going into the 15th celebration is incredible.

It can be difficult to sustain the type of momentum so many years after people pass away, but I think it really speaks to the Sharing Network and the celebration that they have here.

We certainly have our OGs, our originals, that participate year in and year out.

But this year will be one of our biggest years ever fundraising and in terms of participants.

And it's really because of the celebration.

To see the donor families honoring their loved ones and the- - What's that like?

- It's beautiful.

It is, I'll probably cry a few times today.

(laughing) It's really moving to see so many people that have gone through similar scenarios as to our family's but have really, truly turned their grief into a gift and honoring their loved ones in this way and helping to save other lives.

And then the combination of seeing so many donation recipient families here that have that extra chance.

- The gift.

- That gift to continue on is really beautiful to see everyone come together today.

- What is MTF Biologics?

- Yeah, so MTF Biologics is a tissue processor.

So we take donated tissues that the New Jersey Sharing Network recovers from donor heroes, and we process those tissues into tissue grafts that are used in all kinds of surgery.

- When we're talking about tissue donation, how many people are impacted by that every year?

- Tissue donation and transplant happens much more often.

About 70,000 individuals are tissue donors every year.

Much more than organ donors, and about 2.5 million tissue transplants happen in our country every year.

So it happens every day.

Most people don't even know they're receiving tissue sometimes.

And so we're trying to get the word out about that.

- So many people impacted in so many different ways that we're not even aware of.

What's your overall message here today?

- So my overall message is for today, have a great time.

The weather's great.

If you're not already signed up to be a donor, think about that.

Go to registerme.org.

Talk to your family about it.

You can make a big difference in a lot of people's lives.

And as you can see here today, many people have already done that, and we just need to get the word out about that more.

- Take us back, the year's 2000.

You're a mother, you have a young child, you're working full time, you're really busy, and you're not feeling really well.

- Yeah.

- At what point did you say, "You know what?

I think I need to go to the hospital and get something checked out, 'cause I don't feel right."

- Oh, it was because I was feeling really weak and I couldn't, like, come on time to work.

So I decided one morning instead of going to work, going to the hospital and be checked out.

And to be honest with you, I just wanted a note to say, you know, I'm gonna take some times off and I'm gonna feel better.

That's why I went into the hospital that day.

- So what did the doctors discover when you went in?

- So after a bunch of testing, the doctors discovered my kidneys.

Both my kidneys had died and all my blood was contaminated and I had, as the doctors words, it was like, I was very poisoned.

- Something happens, something changed for you.

You got connected, not in so much the regular way that a lot of people we hear get connected with their donors.

Usually you're on a transplant list for a very long time.

You get that call and you get the new organ to save your life.

- [Zoeh] Yeah.

- For you, you got connected differently with a family.

Tell us about Mario.

- Yeah, so actually it was my husband's friend who knew Mario.

And Mario was his son's best friend and Mario was attacked and his mother, when she heard that he was brain dead, that she was gonna donate his organs.

And so Diego went to speak to his mom on my behalf.

But Diego didn't know his mother, he only knew Mario.

And he went to speak to his mother, wrote my name down, and that's how I got that connection.

- So they let them know, "Hey, my wife's waiting for, she needs this lifesaving kidney."

- [Zoeh] Yeah.

- She just, to be able to live, you know, the rest of her life really healthy.

So when did you get the call and know that Mario was able to be a match for you?

- Yes, so that same night they called me and they said, "Can you please go do some testing?"

I was on the list, but a lot of tests was not on time.

So that day I spent the whole day in the hospital.

I was tested, I finished, I called them and I said, "Okay, I'm done with the test."

So I went home.

They said, "Don't eat.

We don't know if it's a match or anything, but please don't eat or anything, just go home and rest."

But it was around six o'clock, it was a Tuesday, it was a rainy Tuesday and six something.

I fell asleep, the phone rang and the lady at the other end said, "The kidney is yours."

So, you know, I had been in the dialysis for five years and I had seen so many people go and, you know, said they were excited they were gonna get a transplant.

So I said, "So what does that mean?"

And the lady said that, "Just come, don't rush, it's raining, your kidney's coming in a helicopter from Jersey City."

I went to Livingston and the next day on November 30th, at five in the morning, they put my kidney.

And from the moment they put it in, started working right away.

- That gift, the gift that Mario gave you, how do you honor that gift every day?

- Oh, every day, and so, you know, it's interesting because I now work for the New Jersey Sharing Network here as the community specialist.

But I passed through his name, because we put these names all over the walls.

And whenever I go to work- - It's the Wall of Remembrance, right, yes.

- Yes.

So his name is on my way there.

So every time I see it, I remember.

I pray for his mother every day, because it was she who made the decision to give me the gift of life.

And so I honor it by just living my life to the fullest.

And I was able to be there for my daughter.

- Tell everyone who Sam is and why Sam is so special.

- Well, Sam is special, 'cause he's my son, and Sam is also special, because he received the gift of life, a heart transplant, 14 years ago.

- He was eight.

- He was eight.

And I believe you interviewed him when he was eight years old.

- Absolutely.

- Describe for folks, I mean, you know, any mom, any dad, any parent right now is trying to imagine what you're saying right now and what Sam was going through.

How did it change his life?

- Well, before his transplant, he was not a regular kid.

He didn't go to school full day.

He maybe went once a week.

He couldn't go to a birthday party.

He couldn't walk up the stairs.

He couldn't play on the playgrounds.

And all that changed.

He had the heart transplant.

He went back to school.

He went to birthday parties.

He played on a basketball team.

And he walked up the stairs in our house without turning blue.

- [Steve] What was it like for you?

- Overwhelming, grateful.

We had our family back together again.

- Let me ask you this.

You've been involved in this organization with this 5K for a while now.

Describe for folks who get to see it on the air but are not here.

I mean, it's early in the morning.

There'll be thousands of people here at the 15th anniversary of the 5K, the Sharing Network 5K.

What's the mood, what's the feeling here?

- [Debbie] This is an incredible day.

We call it a Celebration of Life for a reason, because it really is celebrating life.

I wanna start first about your health journey.

Take us back before you received the two brand new lungs from your donor.

Take us back to that time and what your day to day life was like.

- So I've been sick for, I was sick for like five years with a, what they said, terminal lung disease.

I had a condition called CHP, which is chronic hypertensive hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

So you know, I was on meds and seeing the advanced lung team and day to day I was on oxygen starting in 2019.

So I was going to work and doing everything.

- On oxygen?

- With my oxygen tank.

In 2023, right at the five year mark, I started to decline and then one day I just couldn't get my breath.

So I called my sis, I called my transplant center and they were like, "Just come in."

And I'm like, okay, "How do I get there?"

So I called my sister-in-law like, "Are you busy?"

She's like, "No."

I'm like, "I need to go to the doctor."

She's like, "Okay."

I'm like, "UPenn."

She was like, "Let's go."

And then she's like, "Are you sure we're gonna make it there?"

I'm like, "Yeah, this is where I need to go."

So I really honestly thought I was just gonna go in.

They were gonna keep me for like a day or two, titrate my oxygen up.

- Okay.

- And I was gonna- - Get you more stable.

Yep.

- That didn't happen.

- How long were you there for?

- A year.

- A year in the hospital?

- Yeah.

Different like, we call it LTAC, long term acute care.

And then I got the call and then I went back to the main hospital.

My transplant was at UPenn and I was transplanted.

And I ended up staying in the ICU for another five months.

- You here today is a miracle.

- Yes.

- And to have you here at the 5K, the 15 years celebrating this year.

This is the third year with your team, Team Bee Strong.

- Yeah.

- And but the first year as a transplant recipient.

What does that feel like for you?

- I'm so happy.

I get emotional because I didn't think I would be here.

So being able, I'm not gonna walk today, but just to be here for my team.

- Things will continue to be a bit of a challenge for you, but I know you're taking it in stride and just like you said, staying positive and making sure that your mental health is number one.

I know that's so important for you.

- Yeah, so I like, I'm a nurse practitioner.

And pediatrics, I can't go back to, so now I'm heading to psych.

Headfirst into psych like, we gotta get these patients, like families, recipients, donor families, you gotta talk to them.

- All onboard.

- See how they're doing.

Because it's very emotional.

- Yeah.

- And, you know, and they have to know that there is support that's out there.

So I'm now like, "Did you hear about the Sharing Network?"

(laughing) In the facility.

Denise gave me like all these things, and I was like passing them out.

"This is in New Jersey.

Are you from New Jersey?"

(Jacqui laughing) And then all the people and I'm like, "Yeah, I'm in Jersey."

I'm like, "Yeah, call the Sharing Network and see what they have-" - Well, you have a new purpose and a- - Yeah.

- And you're just doing amazing work.

And God bless you.

- Thank you.

- And hope you continue to do well and be able to spread the word about this amazing gift that you received.

- Education and advocacy.

- Exactly, that's what we're here for today too.

Thank you so much, Dr.

Shanda.

We really appreciate it.

- Uplifting energetic music.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Johnson & Johnson.

The Fidelco Group.

Valley Bank.

Kean University.

The North Ward Center.

And by Myron and Elaine Adler private foundation, in support of the Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Media.

And by NJ.Com.

Here at Kean University, everyone gets their chance to climb higher.

Michael came to Kean and found his passion for health care, and now he's a doctor.

After Tricia graduated, her graphic design work was featured in The New York Times.

Samantha is studying athletic training and finding her path to an internship with the New York Giants.

Real Students.

Real Stories.

Real Success.

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