New England Donor Services joined Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi; Speaker Joe Shekarchi; Representative Earl Read, DOR Chief of Information and Public Relations, Paul Grimaldi; Director of the Division of Organ Transplantation at Rhode Island Hospital, Paul E. Morrissey, MD; and those touched by donation at Warwick City Hall to celebrate #DonateLifeMonth.

Scott Nerney, a donor spouse, and Robin Allgood, a living kidney donor, shared their stories at the event. Scott began volunteering at NEDS after his wife passed away last year from a stroke. She was able to save three lives through organ donation, which inspired Scott to become a dedicated advocate for its importance. Robin was a living kidney donor to her brother-in-law, John, whose life was saved in 2014 thanks to Robin’s selfless decision. Robin is now a passionate advocate for organ donation awareness.

Thank you, Mayor Picozzi and the City of Warwick, for your continued support of donation! #DonateLifeMonth

NEDS volunteers Mary Lou Crowley and Beth and Kevin Gorman had a great morning at Wilbraham's YMCA Healthy Kids Fair, spreading the word about donation with their “superhero” theme. Beth shared that her “real superhero is my donor. Full of gratitude after receiving a double lung transplant almost 3 years ago.”

In July 2025, Spencer received the Gift of Life with a heart transplant. Now, at 19 months old, Spencer is doing well, and his mom Shannon and his family share their story to inspire others.

“At 6 weeks old, Spencer was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, which was caused by endocardial fibroelastosis. At the time of diagnosis, the first step was to try and medically manage his symptoms, high heart rate, and fluid in his lungs that resulted in difficulty breathing. A few days later, his symptoms returned, and we were told that Spencer would need a heart transplant. We were admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital on October 22nd, 2024, and two weeks later, Spencer was placed on the heart transplant list. On July 16th, 2025, Spencer received his heart transplant after 267 days on the wait list. As first-time parents, this was not how we thought our introduction into parenthood would go, and we are thankful every day that Spencer is here and thriving.”

Thank you, Shannon and family, for sharing Spencer’s story! #DonateLife #PediatricTransplantWeek #DonateLifeMonth #HeartRecipient