Money raised for organ donation being unused - 13WHAM-TV

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Rochester, N.Y. —

Aisha O'Mally has done a lot in the past 12 years.

"I've gotten my Master's Degree. I'm working on my doctorate right now. I went to Italy, I went to France."

O'Mally thanks her donor for being able to do all of that. After waiting for nine months, she received a heart transplant in February of 2004.

"Because of my donor, I'm able to sit here and do the work that I do, so I try to pay it forward," said O'Mally.

So when she heard about the findings in a recent audit done by the New York State Comptroller's Office, stating that one million dollars raised for the Life... Pass It On fund is just sitting in an account, and has been for years, she was disappointed.

The one million dollars came from people making donations when getting their license or purchasing a "Donate Life" license plate.

"For me, it's a very easy issue; it's very black and white, if you have it, do something with it," O'Mally said.

Since her transplant, O'Mally has been making the most of what she calls her "second chance," working with organizations like Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network, lobbying in Albany, even researching organ donation trends at the University of Buffalo.

She said there are more than 10,000 people in the state waiting for a transplant, and the money sitting in the bank isn't benefiting anyone.

"I think there's a lot of education that can be done, a lot of building awareness," she said. "I think interventions are important, but we can't move forward unless there's better communication."

Organ donors in the area want better communication, too. They also want answers.

"Who holds the account and why?" asked Carolyn Knutzen, a registered nurse. She said working first-hand in an environment that deals with transplants, she was shocked to learn of the money not being used.

"It would be a waste for those that are waiting," said Knutzen.

"A million dollars is big chunk of change for anybody," said Sean Anne. He's been working as a volunteer firefighter and ambulance companies his entire life. "I think it's a great time that we look into education and be at the forefront and do something big with it."

O'Mally said New York State has taken steps to increase low donorship numbers, but they need to act faster.

"Now that we are aware that there is money and there is funding, there needs to be a plan put into order immediately. Time is of the essence, people are dying everyday, right? I could have been one of them," said O'Mally.

The audit also looked at three other organizations that have been raising money for different causes. It gave recommendations to the Department of Health for each.

The Department of Health released the following statement to 13WHAM regarding the Comptroller's findings and recommendations on organ donation:

The State Department of Health selected a private contractor to take over responsibility of the Donate Life Registry in May. The Comptroller’s office knows this because its had the contract since then and has failed to move on it. Instead they chose to issue an outdated audit that, once again, cherry-picks the facts.

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