STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Barbara D’Amora lost her son, Nicholas, earlier this year, but on Tuesday she said that someday she hopes to hear his heart beat again.
D’Amora, her husband, William, the family of Brittany McCarthy, who died in 2021, Donna Milone, a living donor, and other members of the organ donor community joined Borough President Vito Fossella and Borough Hall staff to celebrate the gift of life their loved ones bestowed on others.
Throughout his life, Nicholas, who lived with non-verbal autism and died at 25, was urged by his parents to live with purpose, becoming a fierce advocate for other autistic people.
“God had a purpose for him. I just didn’t know at that time, what an impact he would make on the world,” Mrs. D’Amora said. “I look forward to meeting the recipients. I cannot wait. I pray the person who got his heart lets me hear it, because I want to hear it so bad.”
In addition to his heart, other people received both Nicholas’ lungs, his liver, each of his kidneys, and his eyes went to the eye bank helping someone receive the gift of sight. Mrs. D’Amora said she had hoped to donate Nicholas’ brain for research purposes, but that wasn’t possible because of the circumstances of his death.
Likewise, Brittany McCarthy saved three people’s lives through organ donation, and helped another to see after she died in 2021 at the age of 21 from a ruptured brain aneurysm.
Brittany’s mother, Patricia McCarthy-Hillers, was joined by Brittany’s father, Lenny McCarthy. She said that Brittany’s lifelong passion for science made her want to become an organ donor and had put her on the road to becoming a physician’s assistant.
Brittany didn’t have the chance to live out that dream, but her decision to become an organ donor helped others continue living, McCarthy-Hillers said.
“Brittany and others gave the most precious gift that money can’t buy. She gave the gift of life,” her mother said. “I hope to meet her three…
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