Brett's Introduction for the Broadcast

 Brett B. Ashley Introduction

Our guest tonight is 62 yr old Brett B.  Ashley who is looking for a kidney to save his life in these challenging times of COVID-19.   He has been looking for a kidney for over 3 yrs now.

He is a former ship's captain in the United States Merchant Marines and has sailed all over the world,  including one trip with a load of live-saving wheat to Bangladesh at the request of the Vatican. He has also owned and operated a computer business as well as a marketing and advertising firm, whose clients included Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden.


He is an avid lifetime fisherman, who began fishing as a youngster while working on the boats in Sheepshead Bay.

Brett is a Civic-Minded person who donated computers to disadvantaged youth and is Big Brother mentor.

He has a keen interest in music, performing live in local cover bands, starting in 1969 until 2019, when he had to give up playing due to peripheral neuropathy in his hands due to dialysis.

His Kidney Story is fascinating.  In February of 2019, he was hospitalized at St Francis Hospital with an infection in his leg that became septic, causing his kidneys to fail, despite his doctors best efforts.  He then began to do In Center Dialysis three times a week,  four hours at a time, which has greatly impacted his life.   He has had 10 people test to be a kidney donor for him only to have 10 failures.

He is currently listed at Hackensack Medical Center in Hackensack NJ, 551-996-2608 or visit www.hackensackumc.org/services/organ-transplants/ to register online. Other listings include North Shore University Hospital:

-1. https://nsuh.northwell.edu/transplant-services/kidney-transplant

-1. After doing that, please call Linda Lavalee at Brett's hospital @1 (516) 472-5800 ) Blood type is O, DOB May 29, 1959.

Brett is also listed with the National Kidney Registry (NKR), which would permit donors from anywhere across the United States,  with nearly 100 great transplant centers in their network. This enables a donor to donate at any NKR-affiliated transplant center near them or at the Hackensack Medical Center where Brett is listed. 

NKR recognizes paired donation or a donor swap between unmatching recipients and if someone donated on Brett's behalf to another recipient,  the NKR would issue a voucher, moving Brett to the top of the list for the next matching donor.  A voucher is like an IOU, for a kidney.


Many times,  donors are reluctant to donate due to their out of pocket costs for expenses. The NKR had a Donor Sheild Protection Program, under the National Organ Transplant Act that covers these expenses including lost wages, room and lodging & travel expenses.

Check out Brett's NKR page, Register To Donate For Brett, https://www.nkr.org/sfa668, to sign up or share on social media.

Brett is also listed at Weil Connell in NYC
https://weillcornell.org/services/kidney-and-pancreas-transplantation/adult-kidney-transplantation and Einstein Medical in Philadelphia
https://www.einstein.edu/kidney

Please give a warm welcome to our friend, Brett B. Ashley!