New England Donor Services: Heart to Hart
Organ donation is often referred to as a “gift of life” for good reason. A single donor can save up to eight lives through organ transplants (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, intestine), and a tissue donor can improve the lives of as many as 75 people by restoring sight and mobility, and helping burn victims.
Olivia Hart, a Martha’s Vineyard resident and paramedic, is one of the lucky ones. This December marked nine years since she received her heart transplant. Despite having a healthy and active lifestyle, shortly after graduating from college she began experiencing fatigue, shortness of breath, and pain with eating or exertion.
She hadn’t been feeling well for a while, but didn’t take it seriously at first. “I was working a lot of hours at the Seafood Shanty, so it was easy to say that I wasn’t feeling well because of work,” she says. “One day, I went to work, not feeling well, and about halfway through my shift, my coworkers — who really saved my life — looked at me and said, ‘You’re going to the hospital.’ I guess my face was gray and drooping. It happened really quickly.”
Read the full story via the Martha’s Vineyard Times >> https://www.mvtimes.com/2026/01/07/gift-of-life/