North Shore University Hospital and LiveOnNY marked Donate Life Month with a flag-raising ceremony on March 31, highlighting the importance of organ donation. The event included the Lekhraj family, who shared their experience after Sunil Lekhraj became an organ donor following his death in May 2024.
The ceremony underscored the ongoing need for organ donors across the country. While more than 23,000 people donated organs nationally in 2025, over 109,000 individuals are still waiting for transplants in the United States. About 61,000 of these patients are on active transplant waiting lists.
Lakshmi Lekhraj spoke about her family’s decision to honor her husband’s wishes as an organ donor. “When everything felt uncertain and out of control, a decision was made to turn loss into something meaningful,” said Mrs. Lekhraj. “The decision was made for organ donation.” Her husband’s organs were transplanted into four patients.
Greta Piper, MD, director of cardiothoracic critical care at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), addressed how families often find comfort in knowing their loved ones can help others through donation. “We hear from donor families how their loved ones would do anything for anyone else while they were alive and so donation in death makes complete sense,” said Piper. “We see the pride in young people when they find out their parent is going to be a hero and save another life. These stories give us hope, motivation and comfort.”
NSUH is one of only 59 adult transplant centers nationwide offering heart, kidney, liver, lung and pancreas transplants under one roof according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The hospital treats more than 90,000 patients each year and recently earned recertification from CMS for several programs without any deficiencies.
Leonard Achan, president and CEO of LiveOnNY said: “This month – and every month – we honor the extraordinary generosity of donor heroes and the strength of their families, whose decisions continue to save and heal lives.” He added that LiveOnNY works with eleven regional transplant centers to ensure individuals’ wishes are honored.
In New York State overall registration rates surpassed fifty percent for registered organ donors for the first time in 2024.
