As Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month comes to a close, LiveOnNY hosted a special event in Chinatown to honor the dedication of EMT workers and the generosity of organ donors.

The gathering took place at the Museum of Chinese in America, where the contributions of the Asian community were celebrated and support for organ donation was highlighted.

"We owe a tremendous amount to this community and to our donors and their families," said Scott Wohl, senior director of Community and Government Affairs at LiveOnNY.

The event recognized servicemen who died and donated their organs, as well as current EMT leaders who work tirelessly to save lives every day.

"Organ donation for me goes back to my academy days," said Ben Chou, president of the FDNY Phoenix Society. "As an Asian American, organ donation is a bit unfamiliar in our culture. You're not really made aware of the benefits that come from it."

One of the event's highlights was the story of Mary Wu, who received lifesaving kidney transplants twice.

"I was born a healthy kid, then I had a spiked fever," Wu recalled. "My parents, who were not born in this country and had a whole different language and culture, were thrown into this tailspin of healthcare."

At 3 years old, Wu was diagnosed with renal agenesis, meaning one of her kidneys was shrinking and the other was deformed. She received her first transplant at about 5 years old, but it started to fail by age 11. Thankfully, because of another donation, she received a second transplant.

"A 4-year-old girl died when a mirror fell on her, and I have been blessed to have 29 years with her kidney," Wu said.

Today, Wu volunteers with LiveOnNY, advocating for organ donation.

"It's about paying it forward and the good that we do - everything we do or don’t do can have the biggest and best impacts," she emphasized.

Those interested in finding out more about organ donation, can visit the LiveOnNY website.