For Brooklyn native Nell Longmore, organ donation was always more than a checkbox; it was part of her family’s legacy. Her father, Dr. Wayne Longmore, led the Emergency Department at Bellevue Hospital for 35 years and championed organ donation, especially in communities of color, showing families that saying “yes” could save and heal lives across New York State. His dedication inspired Nell to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor when she got her first driver license at 18, continuing a commitment to help others in their hardest moments.
She never imagined she would one day need a lifesaving transplant herself.
At 30, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nell began experiencing extreme fatigue, bruising, and jaundice, symptoms that quickly became impossible to ignore. “I found myself sick, really, really sick,” she said, recalling how rapidly her health declined. In November 2020, she was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, a rare disease that had progressed to end-stage liver failure, leaving organ donation as her only hope for survival.
As Nell fought for her life, her father faced his own battle with stage-four cancer. He passed away on April 20, 2021, Nell’s 31st birthday, a heartbreaking convergence of grief and uncertainty about her own future.
Two months later, on her first Father’s Day without him, Nell got the call that would change everything: a matching liver was available. “I like to think my dad gave me a gift that Father’s Day,” Nell reflected, honoring both his lifelong advocacy for donation and the generosity of her donor’s family. Because someone said yes to organ donation, Nell received the liver transplant she needed to live, underscoring how every New Yorker who enrolls in the Donate Life Registry can give a similar gift of hope.
Now, healthy and thriving, Nell fills her days with joy, skiing, drawing, and walking her puppy, Ranger, around Manhattan, daily reminders of the second chance she was given. She honors her father and her 73-year-old donor by sharing her story as an advocate with Donate Life NYS, raising awareness at DMV events, press conferences, and in Albany so that more New Yorkers understand the power of joining the Donate Life Registry.
“I often think about my donor,” Nell said. “I imagine her life and feel like she’s a part of my journey. We’re living this next adventure together.”
Her story shows how one decision to donate can echo through generations, giving families like hers more time, more memories, and more reasons to hope.
You have the power to save lives. Enroll as an organ and tissue donor.