Organ transplant from firefighter Mark Staunton to cop Kenneth Spaeth gives one Suffolk family solace and another hope
Mariuxy Mora holds a portrait of her late husband, Yaphank volunteer firefighter Mark Staunton. He died recently at age 50 after a heart attack and she decided to donate his organs to save other lives, including that of a fellow first responder from Suffolk County. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
Mark Staunton took his last breath at 10:58 p.m. on May 28, his family by his bedside at Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue.
His wife, Mariuxy Mora, and other loved ones drew comfort from knowing that while his life was ending after a heart attack at age 50, pieces of the Yaphank volunteer firefighter would live on in others.
Hospital personnel took Staunton by gurney on an "honor walk" to the operating room as staff lined the hallway with candles. Upon arrival, the transplant team had 60 minutes to harvest his organs.
A team of surgeons extracted Staunton's kidneys, lungs and liver — before a plan for helping four seriously ill people across the country kicked into gear. All of Staunton's organ recipients were between the ages of 50 and 75, each desperate for a second chance at survival.
But Staunton's family only knew the identity of one — a Long Islander and fellow first responder.
The same day, doctors transplanted one of Staunton's kidneys into retired NYPD detective and 9/11 first responder Kenneth Spaeth, of Bayport.
Spaeth, 51, underwent surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset in what's known as a directed donation — when a donor family or a live donor gives an organ to a specific recipient.
Staunton, who previously worked as an engineer and maintenance manager, wasn't a registered organ donor but privately expressed interest in donating, said Mora, 42.
On May 19, Staunton, who also had a paid job doing building maintenance for the Yaphank Fire Department, suffered a massive heart attack at the couple's Middle Island home.
"His mission in life physically stopped, but he continues to do what he was meant to do in this world. And what he was meant to do in this world was to help people," his wife said.
Less than half of New York adults are registered to become organ and tissue donors. That figure trails the national average during a time when more than 100,000 Americans are on the organ donor waiting list, including about 8,000 in New York, according to United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the transplant waiting list in the United States.
On Long Island, organ donations have increased 30% during the past year, according to Leonard Achan, president and chief executive officer of LiveOnNY. The nonprofit facilitates organ procurement and transportation statewide and worked with Staunton's family during the agonizing process.
Achan said 80% of the donations the group arranges are authorized by family members who provide a voice for incapacitated loved ones.
"That's so much more powerful because it means that our community knows what their loved one represented and wanted to save a life," the nonprofit's president added. "Our community here in New York is so generous that they have stepped up and said 'yes' on behalf of their family members."
Staunton's sister, Erica Kwarta, said her brother's gift gives her peace as she mourns.
"I know he's still living," said Kwarta, 54, of East Meadow. "I feel he's out there, which is an amazing thing to think. He's still living in somebody else and helping somebody else."
After 25 years on the job, Spaeth's NYPD career came to an abrupt halt in January.
Spaeth, 51, had loved following leads, investigating cases and chasing down criminals as a detective. His service, primarily in Brooklyn, included working as a first responder on 9/11.
But then routine blood work revealed alarmingly high creatinine levels, a sign of severe kidney issues. Spaeth had been experiencing swollen legs, fatigue and dizziness but attributed the symptoms to his demanding job.
Suddenly Spaeth couldn't ignore his daunting reality: He needed a kidney transplant.
It was a problem his wife, Nechel Spaeth, 48, had faced herself after receiving a kidney transplant in 2011, also at North Shore University Hospital. After waiting seven years for a transplant, she had no intention of letting her husband sit, perhaps endlessly, on a national waiting list.
In March she began circulating flyers and spreading word of his condition on social media. The plan was to look for a directed donation while he underwent the medical testing to get on the national organ waiting list.
"It's five years on the wait list in New York for a kidney," Nechel Spaeth said. "And we wanted to get him on the list and try to get him a kidney before he hit end-stage renal disease, where he'd have to go on dialysis. It's not easy. Dialysis is debilitating. It takes everything out of you. So we were trying to get a kidney for him before it got to that point."
Word of Spaeth's condition eventually reached Mora through a friend of a friend while Staunton was hospitalized.
Mora, who was working in her former job in the American Express Tower in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, connected with Spaeth's story on a personal level.
She told herself that her husband would want to give the gift of life to a fellow first responder. She made the decision to donate a kidney to Spaeth after blood tests showed the two men were a match.
Mora said the 9/11 connection between the two families made the donation even more special.
"To know that somebody was there, and he was able to help that person continue living," Mora said of her husband's kidney going to the NYPD detective.
Going forward, the families are forever bonded.
"I told Nechel, 'You have a huge part of my heart,' " Mora added.
Nechel Spaeth was able to attend Staunton's funeral service by Zoom and said she's "forever grateful" for his gift of life. She said her husband, who was unavailable for an interview this week as he continues his recovery, is adjusting well to the kidney transplant.
"She gave us such an incredible gift," Nechel Spaeth said of Mora, "especially for a stranger not knowing us, all while she was going through the grieving process."
Not everyone is as fortunate as Spaeth and the other three recipients of Staunton's organs, whose identities his family hopes to learn in time.
Statistics show 5,600 people die annually waiting for an organ, most on the kidney waiting list, according to Donate Life America, a nonprofit focused on increasing organ donation that works with state procurement agencies such as LiveonNY.
In total, 48% of New York adults are registered organ donors — among the lowest in the country, although that figure has nearly doubled in the past decade. That compares with a national average of 64% of the population, according to Donate Life New York State, a chapter of the national nonprofit.
On Long Island, 51% of Suffolk residents are registered donors compared with 40% in Nassau, the local group said.
Mora's younger sister, Jennifer Reinoso, said that has to change.
"It's something that everyone should say 'yes' to," said Reinoso, 38, of Middle Island. "Because it's true — when you die, where does your body go?"
Organ donations can save more than just the recipient, according to Achan, from LiveOnNY.
"We have families who believe they wouldn't be alive today — some were depressed; some were alcoholics or suffering from substance abuse — who, once that loved one was lost and that gift was given to others, they found some form of peace and a new purpose to life," he said.
Mora said she's found solace in Staunton's gifts — and advocating for others to follow suit.
"It helps to know," she said, "that there's still a piece of him out there living."
It was on day six at the hospital that discussions of organ donation began in earnest.
A neurologist told Mora her husband of seven years, the love of her life for a quarter century, would never wake up.
He would not want to live this way, she thought.
"He would never put it on his license . . . but he always talked about, if anything happened, he would definitely be a donor," recalled Mora, a manager for a private practice veterinarian.
Staunton had shown minor signs of life after his collapse on May 19, when fellow Yaphank volunteer firefighters were among first responders who came to the scene. They were able to restore his pulse. But by week's end, his condition had deteriorated.
On day nine at the hospital, it was finally time to say goodbye. Staunton's family had prepared for the moment and watched a priest give him last rites.
Then nurses dimmed the operating room's lights. The Ed Sheeran song "Eyes Closed" played aloud on an iPhone — the lyrics a soundtrack for the family's grief.
Every song reminds me you're gone and I feel the lump form in my throat
'Cause I'm here alone
Just dancin' with my eyes closed
'Cause everywhere I look I still see you
Within two minutes, Staunton was gone.
Mark Staunton took his last breath at 10:58 p.m. on May 28, his family by his bedside at Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue.
His wife, Mariuxy Mora, and other loved ones drew comfort from knowing that while his life was ending after a heart attack at age 50, pieces of the Yaphank volunteer firefighter would live on in others.
Hospital personnel took Staunton by gurney on an "honor walk" to the operating room as staff lined the hallway with candles. Upon arrival, the transplant team had 60 minutes to harvest his organs.
A team of surgeons extracted Staunton's kidneys, lungs and liver — before a plan for helping four seriously ill people across the country kicked into gear. All of Staunton's organ recipients were between the ages of 50 and 75, each desperate for a second chance at survival.
But Staunton's family only knew the identity of one — a Long Islander and fellow first responder.
The same day, doctors transplanted one of Staunton's kidneys into retired NYPD detective and 9/11 first responder Kenneth Spaeth, of Bayport.
Spaeth, 51, underwent surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset in what's known as a directed donation — when a donor family or a live donor gives an organ to a specific recipient.
'He's still living'
Staunton, who previously worked as an engineer and maintenance manager, wasn't a registered organ donor but privately expressed interest in donating, said Mora, 42.
On May 19, Staunton, who also had a paid job doing building maintenance for the Yaphank Fire Department, suffered a massive heart attack at the couple's Middle Island home.
"His mission in life physically stopped, but he continues to do what he was meant to do in this world. And what he was meant to do in this world was to help people," his wife said.
Less than half of New York adults are registered to become organ and tissue donors. That figure trails the national average during a time when more than 100,000 Americans are on the organ donor waiting list, including about 8,000 in New York, according to United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the transplant waiting list in the United States.
On Long Island, organ donations have increased 30% during the past year, according to Leonard Achan, president and chief executive officer of LiveOnNY. The nonprofit facilitates organ procurement and transportation statewide and worked with Staunton's family during the agonizing process.
Achan said 80% of the donations the group arranges are authorized by family members who provide a voice for incapacitated loved ones.
"That's so much more powerful because it means that our community knows what their loved one represented and wanted to save a life," the nonprofit's president added. "Our community here in New York is so generous that they have stepped up and said 'yes' on behalf of their family members."
Staunton's sister, Erica Kwarta, said her brother's gift gives her peace as she mourns.
"I know he's still living," said Kwarta, 54, of East Meadow. "I feel he's out there, which is an amazing thing to think. He's still living in somebody else and helping somebody else."
Families forever bonded
After 25 years on the job, Spaeth's NYPD career came to an abrupt halt in January.
Spaeth, 51, had loved following leads, investigating cases and chasing down criminals as a detective. His service, primarily in Brooklyn, included working as a first responder on 9/11.
But then routine blood work revealed alarmingly high creatinine levels, a sign of severe kidney issues. Spaeth had been experiencing swollen legs, fatigue and dizziness but attributed the symptoms to his demanding job.
Suddenly Spaeth couldn't ignore his daunting reality: He needed a kidney transplant.
It was a problem his wife, Nechel Spaeth, 48, had faced herself after receiving a kidney transplant in 2011, also at North Shore University Hospital. After waiting seven years for a transplant, she had no intention of letting her husband sit, perhaps endlessly, on a national waiting list.
In March she began circulating flyers and spreading word of his condition on social media. The plan was to look for a directed donation while he underwent the medical testing to get on the national organ waiting list.
"It's five years on the wait list in New York for a kidney," Nechel Spaeth said. "And we wanted to get him on the list and try to get him a kidney before he hit end-stage renal disease, where he'd have to go on dialysis. It's not easy. Dialysis is debilitating. It takes everything out of you. So we were trying to get a kidney for him before it got to that point."
Recently retired NYPD Det. Kenneth Spaeth, who in May received a kidney donation from the late Yaphank volunteer firefighter Mark Staunton. Credit: Spaeth family
Word of Spaeth's condition eventually reached Mora through a friend of a friend while Staunton was hospitalized.
Mora, who was working in her former job in the American Express Tower in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, connected with Spaeth's story on a personal level.
She told herself that her husband would want to give the gift of life to a fellow first responder. She made the decision to donate a kidney to Spaeth after blood tests showed the two men were a match.
Mora said the 9/11 connection between the two families made the donation even more special.
"To know that somebody was there, and he was able to help that person continue living," Mora said of her husband's kidney going to the NYPD detective.
Going forward, the families are forever bonded.
"I told Nechel, 'You have a huge part of my heart,' " Mora added.
Nechel Spaeth was able to attend Staunton's funeral service by Zoom and said she's "forever grateful" for his gift of life. She said her husband, who was unavailable for an interview this week as he continues his recovery, is adjusting well to the kidney transplant.
"She gave us such an incredible gift," Nechel Spaeth said of Mora, "especially for a stranger not knowing us, all while she was going through the grieving process."
'A new purpose to life'
Not everyone is as fortunate as Spaeth and the other three recipients of Staunton's organs, whose identities his family hopes to learn in time.
Statistics show 5,600 people die annually waiting for an organ, most on the kidney waiting list, according to Donate Life America, a nonprofit focused on increasing organ donation that works with state procurement agencies such as LiveonNY.
In total, 48% of New York adults are registered organ donors — among the lowest in the country, although that figure has nearly doubled in the past decade. That compares with a national average of 64% of the population, according to Donate Life New York State, a chapter of the national nonprofit.
On Long Island, 51% of Suffolk residents are registered donors compared with 40% in Nassau, the local group said.
Mora's younger sister, Jennifer Reinoso, said that has to change.
"It's something that everyone should say 'yes' to," said Reinoso, 38, of Middle Island. "Because it's true — when you die, where does your body go?"
Organ donations can save more than just the recipient, according to Achan, from LiveOnNY.
"We have families who believe they wouldn't be alive today — some were depressed; some were alcoholics or suffering from substance abuse — who, once that loved one was lost and that gift was given to others, they found some form of peace and a new purpose to life," he said.
Mora said she's found solace in Staunton's gifts — and advocating for others to follow suit.
"It helps to know," she said, "that there's still a piece of him out there living."
Kenneth and Nechel Spaeth are seen here after his May kidney transplant operation following a donation of the organ from the late Yaphank firefighter Mark Staunton, whose family arranged for Spaeth to receive it in what's known as a directed donation. Credit: Spaeth family
A last goodbye
It was on day six at the hospital that discussions of organ donation began in earnest.
A neurologist told Mora her husband of seven years, the love of her life for a quarter century, would never wake up.
He would not want to live this way, she thought.
"He would never put it on his license . . . but he always talked about, if anything happened, he would definitely be a donor," recalled Mora, a manager for a private practice veterinarian.
Staunton had shown minor signs of life after his collapse on May 19, when fellow Yaphank volunteer firefighters were among first responders who came to the scene. They were able to restore his pulse. But by week's end, his condition had deteriorated.
On day nine at the hospital, it was finally time to say goodbye. Staunton's family had prepared for the moment and watched a priest give him last rites.
Then nurses dimmed the operating room's lights. The Ed Sheeran song "Eyes Closed" played aloud on an iPhone — the lyrics a soundtrack for the family's grief.
Every song reminds me you're gone and I feel the lump form in my throat
'Cause I'm here alone
Just dancin' with my eyes closed
'Cause everywhere I look I still see you
Within two minutes, Staunton was gone.
HOW TO BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR
An enrollment form is available at https://donatelife.ny.gov/register/ and anyone 16 and up is eligible.
Another way to sign up is while applying for or renewing a learner permit, driver's license or non-driver ID at a New York State Department of Motor Vehicles office or online with a MyDMV account.
- Voter registration forms and applications for health insurance through the New York State of Health Official Health Plan Marketplace also give the option to become a donor.
SOURCE: New York State
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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