“On the List” Reception, Los Angeles

Nancy Davis welcomed Steve Farber, Harlan Abrahams, and Heidi Heltzel of the American Transplant Foundation to a private party at her home celebrating the release of On the List: Fixing America’s Failing Organ Transplant System on October 12, 2009. Fashion critic Steven Cojocaru and musician Natalie Cole, both kidney recipients, actor Tom Arnold, musician Johnny Mathis, and many other guests came to show their support for organ and tissue donation.

During the event, co-authors Steve Farber and Harlan Abrahams spoke about their new book and held an intimate Q&A session with guests. Steven Cojocaru spoke passionately about his transplant experience and the need for more people to become both living and deceased donors.

In several of their comments, the speakers called attention to the plight of Caitlin Gustaserro, a guest at the party who is in need of a kidney transplant and faces a seven to nine year wait for a kidney in California. After the Q&A session, during which many people asked questions about living donation, a woman walked up to Caitlin and offered to be tested as a match and living donor! This example illustrates one of the main goals of the Foundation’s national tour: to provide education on living donation so that more lives–like Caitlin’s–can be saved through transplantation.

Entertainment Tonight was at the party to interview Natalie, Steven, Steve, and Harlan. Coverage of the event was included during ET’s national broadcast on Wednesday, October 14th.

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