Organs Of Late Comic Kenny DeForest Successfully Transplanted Into Five Recipients

greg evans

Mon, 18 Dec 2023, 1:10 pm·2-min read

The tragic bike-accident death of stand-up comic Kenny DeForest on Dec. 8 has resulted in a new chance at life for five people who have received six of DeForest’s organs, according to DeForest’s family and LiveOnNY, a nonprofit federally designated organ procurement organization.

According to LiveOnNY, six of DeForest’s organs have been successfully transplanted into five people between the ages of 30 and 75. The recipients live in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC and Indiana. A seventh organ is being transported for transplantation.

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A registered organ donor, DeForest’s organs that have been transplanted or will be transplanted include his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas.

In a statement, Leonard Achan, President and CEO of LiveOnNY, said, “In life, the beloved stand-up artist brought joy and laughter. And in death, because Kenny was a registered organ donor, LiveOnNY, which oversees and coordinates organ donation in the greater New York area, can now confirm that he graciously gifted seven of his organs to five people between the ages of 30 and 75. Kenny gifted his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas to recipients waiting for a second chance at life from New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC and Indiana.

“LiveOnNY is humbled to have honored Kenny’s last wish and be the stewards of these precious gifts on behalf of Kenny and his family, so that he and others may Live On. We extend our deepest condolences to Kenny’s family and large community of friends. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them during this difficult time.”

DeForest, a popular stand-up comic who made appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden, HBO’s Crashing and Comedy Central’s Tales From The Trip, died last Wednesday at a Brooklyn hospital days after the single-vehicle e-bike accident on Dec. 8. DeForest was riding a rented e-bike when he collided with an unoccupied parked car at the Rogers
Avenue and Sterling Place intersection near Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

After undergoing surgery to remove a piece of his skull and relieve pressure from a brain bleed, DeForest succumbed to his injuries on December 13 at Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital.

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