By Ashley Pavlakis
Cover credit – Scannell Family
Sometimes life throws you a curveball. For local St. James resident Scott Scannell, he’s been dealt a wild pitch. Scannell needs a kidney transplant by way of a living organ donor. He’s been on the waitlist at Stony Brook Hospital for two years but has not found a match.
Scannell has polycystic kidney disease, which means there are cysts scattered around the kidneys that are decreasing their ability to function properly. Living with one kidney is typically ok and doesn’t have much of an effect on the person if it comes down to it. Unfortunately for Scannell, both kidneys are infected and experiencing failure. He’s been on dialysis treatment since May to help, but it’s not enough. Dialysis treatment is a placeholder, it helps the body do what it can’t do on its own. It’s not an ideal quality of life to be hooked up to a machine for three hours at a time, multiple times a week.
“I do, I’m a little bit fatigued. It’s stressful going to dialysis three days a week, I’m doing the best I can with it,” said Scannell of his current state of health.
There are four types of organ donors, living, deceased, tissue, and pediatric donors. For Scannell, he’s best suited to find a match with a living donor. The reasons for this are that a living donor’s kidney will typically last longer than one of a deceased donor, there’s less chance of rejection and a quicker recovery time. Organs are matched with medical information such as blood type, body size, and tissue. Scannell is also lucky enough to have O positive as his blood type, as it’s the universal donor and most common. Kidneys play a vital role in keeping the human body functioning healthily and properly.
“There’s nothing really that can be done for the polycystic kidney disease [aside from dialysis or a transplant]. For all we knew he could’ve had this since he was young. The thing is it really doesn’t present itself. When he was fifty, he had some blood in his urine so that’s why he went to the doctor and they did a sonogram, that’s how they found the cysts. Otherwise, you don’t have many symptoms,” said Karen Scannell.
Scannell is a loving son, husband, and father to his family. He’s a proud business owner as well. Scannell graduated from Smithtown High School East and has since watched his three kids grow up in St. James and graduate from there too. He’s married to Karen Scannell, and together they share three kids, Michele, Scotty, and Kristy.
“I met him [Scott] when we were both twenty-five, and we were introduced by a girlfriend of mine. Her boyfriend knew Scott and they introduced us,” said Karen Scannell on how she met her longtime husband.
Organ donors are crucial in helping save lives, especially given the fact that one person can save eight lives by being a donor (Donate Life NY.Gov). Registering to be an organ donor is simple and can be completed online in minutes. Those who are 16 years of age are eligible to be a registered organ donor in New York State. As a NYS citizen, you can only be placed on one donor list. As per Donate Life, the statistics for New York State show that New Yorkers make up 10 percent of the organ transplant waitlist, and an estimated 500 don’t make it due to not receiving a match in time. Consult your doctor and see if you’re a candidate to become an organ donor.
“The donor would call, and they would have to go through a series of tests, bloodwork, it’s a full medical workup… they would not let anybody donate unless they’re absolutely healthy. You’re under their care, they wouldn’t let you donate unless everything checks out. For their own health, they have to be healthy enough to donate,” said Karen Scannell.
Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) is an organ donor and coincidentally was a perfect match for a kidney with her childhood friend Tom D’Antonio back in 2016. Bonner said she would absolutely do it again, sharing how she had no complications as she just has to watch her protein intake and drink more water to help the one kidney that has to do a bit more work.
“There were well over twenty of us that agreed to be tested, they send you a big box of vials and you go to a lab and they fill it up with your blood. Then it all gets sent to be tested and very quickly they’ll be able to see who can move onto the next round. Out of all of those people, I was the only one that could go to the next round. I just say that God gives you two to share one,” said Bonner.
The Scannell family continues to spread the word as much as they can with the resources they have, posting flyers around town and posting to social media. Karen is part of a Facebook group called ‘Kidney Support: Dialysis, Transplants, Donors, & Recipients’. She reads it every day, finding comfort in the positivity shown within it.
“Of course, we want to get him a kidney so he can have a healthier future. He’s a good person, he’s well known in the town. That’s why we’re hoping somebody will come forward and want to hopefully donate,” said Karen Scannell.
Organ Donor lists are a waiting game unfortunately, but the best thing people can do is spread the word to as many people as possible. The more people know about it, the better informed they are to make a decision that could benefit someone’s life.
“It would make me very happy. This whole thing has been life-changing for me,” said Scannell on what it would mean for him when he finds his match.
It takes a village to raise a child, and for Scott Scannell, he is fully supported by his friends and family, especially his wife and kids.
“He means everything, you know, I can’t do it without him. He’s a wonderful dad and a wonderful husband,” said Karen Scannell. “He’s my hero and the first man I’ve ever loved,” Kristy Scannell told The Messenger.
