Second Kidney Transplant Scheduled for Town Clerk

Town Clerk Joe Acocella has won many admirers for his community projects, his hard work and initiatives and his continued perseverance in the face of severe health problems.

Acocella has been working from home and has been in and out of the office since last August, when he began dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant.

Acocella's sister was found to be a donor match for a kidney transplant in December, but due to health problems both siblings experienced, the operation had to be delayed.

They are now hoping the transplant will take place in August.

The kidney transplant will require only a short recuperation of about a week in the hospital for Acocella as the recipient. It will take a longer recuperation for his sister who, as the donor, will  have to be away from  for four to six weeks following the transplant.

This is not the first kidney transplant for Acocella. His first transplant occurred in 2000 when he was a senior in high school. He returned to class just three weeks after the operation.The transplant at that time came from an unknown young cadaver. The donor's organ donation enabled Acocella to go on to finish high school, experience a Washington internship, go on to college and take community positions in Harrison culminating in his election to the position of town clerk.

Acocella is an obvious advocate for organ donation.

"One generous donor can save up to seven lives through organ donation," Acocella explained. "More and more people are signing up to become donors, and in fact the New York State Legislature just passed a law allowing New York residents to register online as organ donors, rather than having to complete all the mail-in forms as they had to previously."

While the first transplant has now failed, Acocella and his family are very hopeful about the success and longevity of the upcoming kidney donation from his sister.

"Because the donation is coming from a live donor, and a blood relative, my doctors are giving us a 90 percent success rate. My doctors expect this transplant to not only be successful, but also to last me for at least twenty years as well," he said.

The decision for Acocella's sister to act as a donor for him was obviously not undertaken without serious consideration and family discussion.

"My sister is 40 and is married with two children. It was a big decision, particularly as she has children. We talked about it together and as a family before it was agreed to proceed," Acocella said.

The local community has been highly supportive of Acocella and his family's efforts to cover the necessary medical expenses.

"I get choked up even talking about it," Acocella said. "This community has been so loving and supportive and I don't know how to ever repay them for  the overwhelming help and support from their calls, to the cards and their generous financial donations."

Shields and Cross – a motorcycle club in Harrison – especially galvanized the community when they held a fundraiser last year to assist with Acocella's medical costs.

"They raised $25,000 in one evening," Acocella said.

Acocella and his family are hoping that his sister's health will allow for the transplant operation to take place next month at Columbia Presbyterian in Manhattan.

To investigate or sign up to become an organ donor go to www.organdonor.gov