Canton-based nonprofit featured on NBC’s Today Show

Canton-based MatchingDonors.com was recently featured on NBC’s Today Show segment “Hope to It” with Natalie Morales.

The segment highlighted the story of Michael Cleaves, who received a live-saving transplant from Nicholas Alo, once a complete stranger, thanks to MatchingDonors.

(Front row, l-r) Jared McMullen and Michael Noone; (back row, l-r) Joel Pratt, Carol and Paul Dooley

Co-founded in 2004 by Canton resident Paul Dooley and Dr. Jeremiah Lowney, MatchingDonors.com has become the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. for finding living altruistic organ donors for patients needing transplants.

Currently, 19 people die every day in the United States waiting for a kidney transplant, most waiting seven to nine years. However, using MatchingDonors.com, patients on transplant lists can post their profiles on the website, and potential donors browse the site for a life they want to help save. Many patients get their transplant through MatchingDonors within six months of signing up on the website.

“We believe that if more people were better educated on the ability to be a live organ donor, and we add in the personal communication between potential organ donors and patients needing an organ, the number of donors will increase — and so will the probability of a patient receiving their much-needed organ,” said Dr. Lowney. “MatchingDonors.com is the most comprehensive searching system available. Other organizations concentrate mainly on the passive, anonymous portion of finding organ donors — leaving little or no communication between patients and potential donors.”

Over the past ten years, MatchingDonors.com has made historic strides in saving the lives of people needing organ transplants, and increasing living organ donation in the United States. The organization has won many awards as well as commendations from Congress and the president of the United States, but it does not currently receive any funds from the government.

MatchingDonors.com is not an organ donor waiting list and is not associated with any organ donor organization. It is a nonprofit venue where patients and potential donors can communicate and hopefully expedite a live donor agreeing to give a much-needed organ. MatchingDonors.com gives patients and potential donors the important communication tools to correspond with each other, but once the contact between the parties has been made, the road to transplant surgery is their own.

Anyone interested in donating to support MatchingDonors.com can do so by calling 781-821-2204.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=28069

Posted by Canton Citizen on Jan 1 2015. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.