From left, Weiss, Czaplicki, Davis, Denner, and Legislator Brian Shapiro, who read the proclamation

KINGSTON – Joseph Czaplicki was 64 years old when he received the heart of a 40-year-old seven years ago.  He says when you add that up, that makes him 111 years old.

Czaplicki told the Ulster County Legislature last week that what it really means is he was able to see one grandson graduate from college and be commissioned into the Navy.  He will seen see other grandchildren either graduate, or get married.

“I can only say that I am indebted, for the rest of my life, to the family who made the heart available to me.  You hear people say ‘well all I have to do is get that thing signed on my driver license’.  Sorry folks, that’s not the way it works.  You can sign it, yes, but they still have to have the approval of the family.”

In other words, let your family know what your intentions are.

Czaplicki, organ recipients Butch Denner and Harvey Davis, and Courtney Weiss, an advocate for improving existing laws concerning transplantation, were guests of the county legislature, which presented them with a proclamation designating April as Organ Donor Awareness Month in Ulster County. 

Weiss noted that in the United States, 17 people die every day, waiting for a transplant.

“It’s a wonderful thing to be a recipient of life” said Denner, who waited nine years for his heart.