N. Caldwell Scout's Project Hits Close To Home: Organ Donation

NORTH CALDWELL, NJ — There are thousands of New Jersey residents in desperate need of an organ transplant on any given day. But with his Eagle Scout project, a North Caldwell teen is hoping to raise awareness about a cause that hits poignantly close to home.

Matthew Altiero, a Life Scout in Boy Scout Troop 856, is trying to encourage people to enlist as organ and tissue donors – not as easy as it sounds amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Altiero, a senior at West Essex High School in North Caldwell, says the issue is personal. His aunt, Lori Altiero, received a kidney from a deceased donor in June 2016 after being on the recipient list for seven years.

“Being on the list for such a long time was a very stressful and anxiety-filled time for her,” Altiero explains.

When it became time to decide on a project, the teen wanted to choose something that would have a profound impact on the lives of others in his aunt’s shoes. It’s an urgent situation he says: there are currently 115,000 people is the U.S. waiting for organ donations, 4,000 of which are New Jersey residents.

To help raise awareness amid the pandemic, Altiero is looking outside the box, supplementing more traditional outreach efforts such as a door to door campaign and informational tables with a virtual option: QR codes.

By scanning a code, people are funneled to two websites. One offers Altiero’s personal story; the other links to the NJ Sharing Network website.

“If you are registered to be an organ and tissue donor through the Department of Motor Vehicles, you are on the state registry,” Altiero said. “By registering with the NJ Sharing Network, you are on the national registry. Please consider registering to become an organ and tissue donor.”

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