The Youth Coalition For Organ Donation
Co-founded in 2016, The YCOD is a youth-led nonprofit coalition that advocates for presumed consent organ donation laws. Seventeen people die every day waiting for a transplant.1
The organ donation crisis in numbers.
New York's registry
When we started, only about 37% of New Yorkers were registered donors, the lowest opt-in rate of any state.2,3 The rate has risen since: New York passed 50% in 2024, but it still trails the national average of 64%.4
Sources: WKBW and Spectrum News coverage of The YCOD2,3; City & State (2025).4
I co-founded The YCOD at fifteen.
In 2016, at about fifteen, I co-founded The Youth Coalition For Organ Donation in East Aurora, New York with Henry McLaughlin, Grace Tapani, and Sage Sellers. We started in the Donate Life club at East Aurora High School. More than 100,000 Americans are on the transplant waiting list, 17 die every day,1 and when we started only about 37% of New Yorkers were registered donors, then the lowest rate in the nation.2
Our main bill was NY Assembly Bill A07954, sponsored by Assemblyman David DiPietro in 2019, which would create a presumed consent system at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Applicants would be registered as organ donors by default unless they decline.7 In 2021 Senator Patrick Gallivan introduced the Senate version, S4334.8 I wrote the 2021 revised draft.
Organ donation is also a racial justice issue. Black Americans make up about 27% of the organ transplant waiting list but only about 12% of organ donors.6 People of color are about 40% of the U.S. population but 60% of the waiting list.5
Over more than seven years I ran our media outreach (coverage included WKBW,2 Spectrum News,9 WENY,10 and CBC Radio's Information Morning in Nova Scotia), built partnerships with WaitList Zero, ONE8FIFTY, and the Chris Klug Foundation, managed our social media in Hootsuite and Trello, and designed the brand identity. The work earned a nomination for the 2021 American Red Cross Real Heroes Education Award.3
I also advocated for the Living Donor Support Act in New York State, which reimburses living organ donors for lost wages, travel, lodging, and child care. Governor Hochul signed it in December 2022.11
The opt-out bill is still unfinished work. The Living Donor Support Act passed, and the coalition is still active.
The TEDxTulane Talk
The Myth of the Apolitical Youth | TEDxTulane
2016 to 2024.
- Passed into law
- Legislative action
- Organizing & outreach
- 2016
Co-founded The YCOD
With Henry McLaughlin, Grace Tapani, and Sage Sellers in East Aurora, NY.
- 2018
Coalition Building
Established partnerships with WaitList Zero, ONE8FIFTY, and the Chris Klug Foundation.
- 2019
Legislative Introduction
Assemblyman David DiPietro introduced A07954, our opt-out organ donation bill, in the NY Assembly in May 2019.7
- 2020–21
- 2021
Bill Revision
I drafted the 2021 revision of our presumed consent bill. Senator Patrick Gallivan introduced the Senate version, S4334, in February 2021.8
- 2021
Real Heroes Nomination
Nominated for the American Red Cross Real Heroes Education Award.3
- 2022
Living Donor Support Act Passed
Passed into lawAdvocated for the NYS Living Donor Support Act, which reimburses living organ donors for lost wages, travel, lodging, and child care. Governor Hochul signed it into law in December 2022.11
- 2022–24
Continued Advocacy
Kept up lobbying, social media, and coalition work while at Tulane.
- 2024
Transition
After more than seven years with The YCOD, I stepped back. The coalition continues.
Sources
- 1Organ Donation Statistics · HRSA, OrganDonor.gov100,000+ people on the national waiting list; 17 people die each day waiting; another person added every 8 minutes.
- 2College freshmen in New York develop plan to encourage more organ donors · WKBW (Olivia Proia), syndicated by Scripps stations, Jan 4, 2021About 37% of New Yorkers registered, "the lowest opt-in rate of any state or country."
- 3WNY Teens Nominated for American Red Cross Award for Organ Donation Coalition · Spectrum News, 2021New York's 37% donor registration rate; 2021 American Red Cross Real Heroes Education Award nomination.
- 4Opinion: New York reached a major health milestone, but we cannot take our foot off the gas · City & State New York, Mar 7, 2025New York passed 50% registered donors in 2024; national average 64%.
- 5Let's Talk About Donor Diversity (infographic) · HRSA, OrganDonor.govPeople of color are 40% of the U.S. population but 60% of the waiting list (OPTN data).
- 6Organ Transplants and Black/African Americans · HHS Office of Minority HealthBlack Americans about 27% of waiting-list candidates and about 12% of organ donors.
- 7Assembly Bill A7954 (2019-2020): Relates to presumed consent to organ and tissue donation · New York State Senate, Introduced May 29, 2019Sponsor Asm. David DiPietro; held in the Assembly Transportation Committee.
- 8Senate Bill S4334 (2021-2022): Presumed consent to organ and tissue donation · New York State Senate, Introduced Feb 3, 2021Sponsor Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan.
- 9College Students Push for More Organ Donations in NY · Spectrum News Buffalo, Jan 12, 2021
- 10College Activists Pushing For Change to Organ Donor Registration Process in NYS · WENY News
- 11Senate Bill S1594 (2021-2022): New York State Living Donor Support Act · New York State Senate, Signed Dec 29, 2022 (Chapter 814)Same as A146; reimburses living donors for lost wages, travel, lodging, and child care.