Contact:
Pamela McDonnell
Director, Media Relations
NYU Medical Center Public Affairs
212-404-3555
Email: Pamela.McDonnell@nyumc.org
Highly Publicized Transplant Patient Leaves
NYU Medical Center After Successful Liver Transplant
New York, August 25, 2005 – Shari Kurzrok, whose plight became
symbolic of the need for organ donation, left NYU Medical Center
recently after a successful liver transplant. Shari,31 who was in
good health at the time, collapsed suddenly with unexplained liver
failure. After a tension-filled wait of nearly three weeks, she
received a transplant through the standard operation of the National
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) matching system,
which is operated by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
Dr. Lewis Teperman, Shari’s Transplant Surgeon and Director of Transplantation at NYU Medical Center, believes, “The hardest part of the transplant is not the surgery but waiting for a donor. Shari is extremely fortunate. She received a liver via the UNOS managed system and in the nick of time. Unfortunately, there are almost 700 patients just at NYU, waiting for a liver.
Mobilized by the severity of the organ donor crisis, the family
has started the Shari Kurzrok Second Chance for Life Foundation.
The mission of the Foundation is to raise awareness and to educate
the public on the dire need for organ donation in our country. This
is not Kurzrok’s first public awareness campaign. Two years
ago Shari, a vice president at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide,
led the publicity campaign for the Red Cross’ largest-ever
blood donor campaign, the Save A Life Tour. She hopes the Foundation
will have the same success. For more information on the Foundation
go to liverforalife.com.
“I want to thank everyone for their good wishes, prayers and
efforts. Most especially, I am forever grateful to the donor’s
family for this amazing gift,” said Shari Kurzrok. “I
realize how fortunate I am to have a second chance at life and I
plan to help others get their second chances as well.
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