JULY 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 51
KIDNEY DONORS GIFT OF LIFE
MIID--IISLLAND Y JJCC
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ACTS OF KINDNESS
BY JULIA MORO
Donating an organ is one of the most
inspiring acts of generosity a person
can perform, and a local man who did
just that is set to be honored for his
benevolence.
Rick Bellando of Farmingdale, who
donated a kidney to a friend in 2007,
is an honoree at the 14th annual
New York Golf Classic at the Nassau
Country Club in Glen Cove on August
5. The event is a fundraiser that supports
the mission of the American
Kidney Fund (AKF), which helps to
fight kidney disease.
“I just wanted to make a difference at
that time and I never really thought
about it,” says Bellando, a sales manager
at Oheka Castle who donated a
kidney to Mathew Fulgieri after
booking Fulgieri’s wedding, when
the two became friends.
Bellando found out that Fulgieri was
suffering from polycystic kidney disease.
Fulgieri lost his grandmother,
mother and brother from this disease
as well. Fulgieri had two young sons
at the time, and Bellando said that he
couldn’t help but think about those
boys growing up without their father.
“He’s such a nice guy, his kids might
not have had a chance to have their
dad… I had little girls at the time,” says
Bellando. “That’s what really got me,
was the kids.”
After Bellando found out he was
a match, he decided he wanted to
donate his kidney. The doctors told
him that there were risks involved
with the procedure, and
although that did worry him,
it didn’t stop him from saving
Fulgieri’s life.
Maria Grasso, a Flushing
Bank senior executive vice
president and chief operating
officer who co-chairs the New
York Golf Classic and is a member
of the AKF National Board
of Trustees, says that not many
people are aware of the effects
of kidney disease, but the golf
classic works to change that.
She says that if every Long Islander
just didn’t buy a coffee
one morning and instead donated
to AKF, that would make
a huge impact.
Rick Bellando is being honored for donating
his kidney.
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