In honor of National Donate Life Month, New England Donor Services (NEDS) hosted an event at Newton City Hall to raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation. On Friday, April 3rd at 11:30 a.m., Newton Mayor Marc Laredo and State Representative Amy Mah Sangiolo joined NEDS staff and local transplant recipients to announce a state proclamation in honor of National Donate Life Month.

In addition, Lia Lawson, a liver recipient from Brighton, and Fred Breimyer, a cornea recipient from Wellesley, will share their impactful stories about how organ donation helped save their lives and inspired them to volunteer with NEDS. Deeply grateful to their organ donors’ generosity, both Lia and Fred dedicate much of their time to advocating for the importance of organ donation.

This year’s National Donate Life Month comes as NEDS achieved a record number of transplants last year. In 2025, NEDS coordinated organ donations from 640 deceased donors resulting in 1,692 life-saving transplants. This record number of organ transplants represents the fifth consecutive year of growth and places NEDS among the nation’s top three organ procurement organizations (OPOs) by donor and transplant volume. Since 2020, NEDS has increased the number of life-saving organ transplants from New England organ donors by 65 percent. In addition, the organization’s Aftercare team provided services to 3,390 new donor families last year. In 2025, NEDS also coordinated 1,628 donor family and recipient letters, and 1,426 individuals impacted by organ donation attended NEDS-sponsored events.

Visit mass.gov/organdonor for more information.