New Year’s Eve Zoom Concert to Benefit Hackensack University Medical Center Healthcare Heroes

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jason Didner to perform New Year’s Eve concert via Zoom on 12/31 at 7PM Eastern to benefit Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center’s Organ Transplant Team.

The Montclair, NJ, musician has a deep connection to Hackensack’s Transplant Center. In 2015, he donated one of his kidneys to his wife Amy, who was suffering from kidney failure as a result of living with type 1 diabetes for more than 45 years. Three years later, with the development of a new pancreas program, Amy became the first pancreas transplant recipient at Hackensack University Medical Center. Amy, who was diagnosed with diabetes when she was just eight and a half years old, faced erratic blood sugars and poor health her entire life. “Throughout my teenage years, I suffered from depression because of having to manage this disease and constantly worrying about my sugars. I just wanted to get rid of my diabetes. When I heard a pancreas transplant would do that, I was very excited,” Amy said at the time of her transplant.

Now, Amy and Jason say it is their turn to help Hackensack University Medical Center’s Transplant Team which has been forced to put research on hold and reallocate funds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is an “all hands on deck” situation,” said Michael Goldstein, MD,  FACS, director of Abdominal Organ Transplant, Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, and Pediatric Abdominal Transplantation at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Division of Organ Transplantation. “This fundraiser will help us continue our commitment to professional development for our team of healthcare heroes who are taking such great care of patients, like Amy.”

“Amy entered a new era, free of needles and insulin, liberated from episodes of extreme and unpredictable variability in her blood sugars. She now has essentially a normal life, something she had not seen in decades. And this all because of the unselfish generosity of a donor who gave the Gift of Life and the incredible Transplant Team at Hackensack University Medical Center. We want to help make sure others are as fortunate as we have been,” explains Jason.

Donations of any amount are optional but appreciated. Click here to RSVP, Hackensack Meridian Health will then send you a Zoom link.

To book an interview with Jason or a member of Hackensack’s Transplant Team, please call or email, Mary McGeever, PR Manager, 551-795-1675 or [email protected]. For additional information visit: https://jasondidner.com/2020/12/nyezoom2020-12-31/