local
Howard Nathan Honored
for Giving the Gift of Life
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
H oward Nathan’s organization
is called Gift of Life and,
throughout his career, that
is what the Jewish Devon resident has
tried to provide.

He has largely succeeded, according
to colleagues and benefi ciaries.

Nathan, 68, spent his career orga-
nizing organ transplants for people
who needed them. He would have to
convince the family of one patient on
his deathbed to allow his organs to be
donated. Th en, Nathan and his Gift of
Life Donor Program team would coor-
dinate the process of getting the part
from one body to another.

Th at career lasted more than four
decades and included more than 55,000
organ transplants, according to an email
celebrating his career from Richard
Hasz, Gift of Life’s new president and
CEO. Nathan stepped down in January
and attended an in-person celebration
of his career on June 29. Gift of Life also
renamed its support and lodging cen-
ter for families who are going through
transplants from the Gift of Life Family
House to Gift of Life Howie’s House.

“His tireless dedication, leader-
ship and mentorship have infl uenced
best donation practices and policies
regionally, across the United States and
around the world,” Hasz wrote.

Ironically, Nathan never planned on
going into the fi eld. He wanted to be a
doctor, but he didn’t get into medical
school when he applied aft er graduat-
ing from Juniata College.

Since Nathan thought he would
FREE ESTIMATES
PERSONALIZED SERVICE
SENIOR DOWNSIZING
DECLUTTER / HOARDING CLEAN OUTS
ALL ITEMS SOLD, DONATED, OR REPURPOSED
RESPECTFUL OF HOMES WITH
ACCUMULATIONS OF 30+ YEARS
JOLIE OMINSKY
OWNER SERVING PA, DE, NJ
JOCSERNICA@YAHOO.COM 610-551-3105
6 JUNE 30, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
apply again, he started to beef
up his resume. He worked on a
microscope in a lab, research-
ing cancer and rabies. Th en
he enrolled in a graduate
program in the University of
Pittsburgh’s School of Public
Howard Nathan visits Israel.

Health. But he wasn’t happy
Courtesy of Denise Portner
there, either, so he answered
an ad for a job organizing kid-
ney transplants for surgeons in the the teams for surgical recoveries and
Philadelphia area.

placing the kidneys with recipients.

“It was basically surgeons who cre- Th e process could take 24-48 hours
ated a nonprofi t to get people to donate with no sleep.

kidneys,” Nathan said.

And he loved it.

At the time, he was still thinking of
“Th is was bigger than life,” Nathan
medical school.

said. “I thought, ‘I’ll apply to this job, and
And it became the rest of his life.

these guys will get me in,’” he said.

In 1983, the man who hired Nathan
Nathan got no answer at fi rst, but he left the organization, and Nathan
kept reaching out. Finally, the manager applied to take his place as executive
brought him in and told him he had director. He got the job overseeing a
no experience. In response, the young team of 10 people.

man off ered a proposition: He would
Eventually, both his team and his
work for free for three months.

mission grew. In the early 1980s, heart
“He hired me,” Nathan said.

and liver transplants became more
In 1978, kidney transplants were common, and the Gift of Life leader
the only transplants that doctors did. made sure to show up at press confer-
Nathan’s job was to fi nd and convince ences celebrating successful procedures
potential donors for patients at fi ve that he helped organize. He wanted to
area hospitals, including the Hospital make sure that donors got credit in
of the University of Pennsylvania and addition to the doctors.

Th omas Jeff erson University Hospital.

“Transplants don’t happen without a
Th e aspiring doctor thought the job donor,” Nathan said.

was cutting edge and that it would
While Gift of Life is based in
combine his interests in research and Philadelphia, it helps people all over
medicine— a solid resume booster for the country. In a January profi le of
med school applications.

Nathan, Th e Wall Street Journal called
But then he started working.

it “the largest and most successful
Nathan would get calls at 3 a.m. and organ donor and transplant network
have to drive to Scranton, Reading and in the country.” Nathan has traveled to
other locations. He would walk into a 33 countries, including Israel, to share
hospital room and see a family whose best practices with doctors and medi-
relative was not going to make it. Th ose cal institutions.

patients were “legally and medically
“Howard has had a tremendous
dead, but their organs were still work- impact not only in the Philadelphia
ing,” Nathan explained.

area but nationally as well,” said Robert
To convince family members to allow Goodman, a Westampton, New Jersey,
the donation, Nathan took a straight- resident and a recipient of a heart
forward approach.

transplant from Gift of Life. “He is
“Th is can be a legacy for that person’s truly a well-known expert, and if he’s
life,” he said.

not the best at what he’s done, he’s in
Once that hard part was over, the the top two or three.”
next one began. Nathan got doctors
and nurses to cooperate, organizing jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com