WESTWOOD—Alyssa Dawson, in recovery, wrote well-wishers “On May 15, I donated my left kidney. Three weeks later and my post-op test results were great. I wish I had more kidneys to donate because I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Dawson, who answered a stranger’s call for help after Westwood Mayor Ray Arroyo signal-boosted her appeal on his official Facebook page, says the donation process started in February, “just a few months after my Grandma passed away. While only the Lord knows what really led to the fast decline in her final days, the ultimate cause of her death according to her death certificate was renal failure.”
Dawson, who had lived with her grandmother for the past four years, said, “Watching my Grandma as her kidneys gave out at the very end was really quite traumatic — her body retaining fluid, her skin discolored. And now, I had the opportunity to potentially prevent someone else from having to suffer like that. It was almost like my Grandma was giving me a sign when I stumbled upon a stranger’s desperate plea for a kidney donor on Facebook.”
She said, “Yet still, even upon filling out the screening form for the Living Donor Program at HUMC, I did not know what would come of it. Then came the tests… blood tests, urine samples, CAT scan, EKG, and more blood tests. And then on March 3 I received a call saying that I was a match for the recipient.”
“In that moment, says Dawson, “I knew that it was meant to be — that somehow God was calling me to do this.”
And she said she’s alarmed by the statistics showing the gulf between those who need kidney donations and organs that are available, from live donors or deceased.
Dawson, 29, is accustomed to solving problems. Of Westwood, she attends Seton Hall University’s School of Law as a part-time weekend student. She is chief of staff to state Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39), and served as the youngest councilwoman in New Jersey in 2018 after being appointed to finish Peter Grefrath’s unexpired term, when he retired.
In 2019, she ran on the Republican ticket for a seat on the Bergen County Board of Commissioners. Her career began in Trenton in 2015 where she worked in the governor’s office and then for Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno during her gubernatorial bid in 2017.
Prior to working for Schepisi, of River Vale, who is seeking re-election this fall (against challenger Jodi Murphy, a Democrat, who also served on the Westwood council), Dawson spent a year working at Evergreen Partners, a leading crisis communications firm.
She’s a member of the Borough of Westwood’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. In her spare time, her bio says, she enjoys playing basketball and is a passionate advocate for suicide prevention and awareness.
Alyssa graduated summa cum laude in December 2014 from Concordia College–NY where she majored in history and played Division 2 basketball.
Her kidney’s recipient is Rena Svokos, who told Pascack Press June 13, “After four years of searching for a donor, my prayers were answered this year. Both of my brothers and three cousins were screened and were unable to donate. Then in February, Alyssa contacted me and changed my life forever.”
Svokos said, “The gift of life is the most unimaginable of all. I have the utmost admiration for those brave enough to go through with the process. There is a great need for these selfless acts. Please consider donating if you are healthy enough, there is a world of people who need your help.”
Dawson told Pascack Press, “In the lead-up to surgery, I can honestly say that I had no fear. My biggest worry was that the surgery would be successful for the recipient. And I still pray each day that the success continues and that her health continues to improve as a result.”
She said, “The entire experience of donating was so incredibly fascinating. In trying to describe how I feel as a result of it, the best way I can sum it up is this: I wish I had more kidneys to donate because I would do it again and again. But since I need the one I have, I will settle for sharing my experience to hopefully get others to consider becoming a living organ donor! The need is so great.”
As of June 3, she said, there are 88,786 people on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. “This year so far, there have been less than 2,000 living donor kidney transplants and slightly under 7,000 deceased donor kidney transplants performed nationwide — do the math.”
In New Jersey, she said, the waiting list as of June 1 stood at 2,352 waiting for a kidney, with 55 living donors (“including me!”) and 112 deceased donors, for a total of 167.
Dawson’s surgeon was Dr. Ravi Munver.
Dawson said, “I am so grateful to my entire living donor team at HUMC, and a special thanks to Gail Gordon, Hackensack Meridian Health Trustee, for being my first visitor post-surgery. The abundance of well wishes, flowers, and thoughtful notes were so appreciated.”
Arroyo, Dawson’s former running mate on the Always Westwood ticket, posted of the connection, musing on serendipity: “When a neighbor, in dire need, reached out wondering how her life and death ‘ask’ might be circulated in Westwood; I offered this platform. And, unsurprisingly, someone from our generous town, selflessly stepped up and answered the plea.”
He said, “But surely the seeming randomness of the universe was compressed and directed by an unseen hand. This chain of events was like tumblers in a lock, clicking into place: I don’t know my neighbor unless JoAnn and I landed right here in our Westwood home. I don’t know the donor unless she’s my council running mate in 2018. I don’t get the seat back in 2019 without the donor organizing the election challenge and successful lawsuit. I’m not the 2019 candidate for mayor unless we win that lawsuit. And I don’t have this platform to cast the net…”
Dawson said her family was with her every step of the way. Her mom, Andrea Dawson, said “It’s not every day that your daughter gives the gift of a better life to someone in need by giving away her left kidney.”
She said, “I am so incredibly proud of the spirit Alyssa exudes in life and I have no doubt that her courageous and selfless act will inspire others. Her father and I have watched her grow up with the overwhelming desire to help people, and this time she went above and beyond.”
She said, “The day of the surgery was frightening, but I trusted God was in control. When I knew in recovery that the recipient had been in her recovery room after the surgery, I literally had goose bumps knowing that she had one of my daughter’s organs inside of her. All to help her have a better life. I still pray that it continues to work in her favor and that she has the gift of many more healthy years ahead.”
Learn more
Hackensack University Medical Center says its Kidney Transplant Program is among the fastest-growing in the nation.
“Our comprehensive living donor program offers several benefits. Kidneys from living donors last longer – almost twice as long – function better, and may take place once the donor and recipient are medically cleared.”
For more information visit HackensackMeridianHealth.org.