NYPD detective Anita Moore was shocked when her doctor told her she had a rare genetic condition that was causing her to go blind. She was just 28 years old and working as a police officer in the Bronx. Thankfully, she was able to get a cornea transplant from a selfless donor in July 2011 that restored her sight. But her donation story did not stop there.
Later that year, Det. Moore learned that her father, Cortez, was in desperate need of a liver transplant. Moore, knowing how powerful organ donation is, offered to donate a portion of her liver to save his life. Cortez was worried about asking his daughter to go through major surgery for him, but Det. Moore reassured him that she wanted to help him. After some convincing, the pair got tested by a doctor and found out they were a match. Det. Moore gave her father the gift of life in February 2012 when she donated 68% of her right liver lobe to him.
“She’s my hero,” he says.
These days both father and daughter are healthy and doing well.
“I love my dad,” Det. Moore says. “I hope the donation gives him many more years with us.”
Though Det. Moore’s cornea transplant requires her to take immunosuppresant drugs that put her at a high risk for infection, she continued to work throughout the pandemic to keep New Yorkers safe.
