Art Pasquarella is a donor in every sense of the word. He gave a kidney as a living donor to one of his brothers. He gives his time as a volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation. And he and his wife, Gail, have made a very generous gift to support the vision for the Jefferson Transplant Institute.
As Art explains, the Pasquarellas had more than one reason to support transplant services at Jefferson. The first reason was a kidney transplant for Art’s late father, Valentino H. Pasquarella, Sr., in the mid-1990s. “Jefferson did a fabulous job for my father,” Art recalls, “That started our family’s affinity toward Jefferson.”
Some 15 years later, Art’s oldest brother, Valentino H. Pasquarella, Jr., was suffering from another type of kidney disease, which had developed from an illness during infancy. Art and his other brother, Joe, underwent the battery of tests to determine compatibility. After discovering that he was a 100 percent match, Art signed on to be a living donor. In November 2010, Adam Frank, MD, FACS, and Carlo Gerardo Ramirez, MD, FACS, operated on Art and Val, respectively. The operations were both successful, and today the Pasquarella family continues to enjoy spending time together. Art is thankful that his big brother still joins him at the table: “Val has one heck of a sense of humor,” Art laughs. “He’s the ‘entertainer’ at our family dinners, and my daughters and nephews are quick to indicate their disappointment if their Uncle Val is going to miss a family dinner.”
When he isn’t enjoying time with his family, Art works as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Equus Capital Partners, Ltd., in Center City. Since 2006, he has also been active with the National Kidney Foundation. For two years, he served as chair of the Delaware Valley Board of the National Kidney Foundation. In 2011, he joined the National Board of the National Kidney Foundation and will soon become chair of the National Board’s Development Committee.
“It’s one thing to support a charity by writing checks and soliciting for donations,” he says. “Being a living donor has brought it all really close to home. You realize you have the opportunity to actually change someone’s life.”
With their generous donation, the Pasquarellas hope to change more lives by supporting Cataldo Doria, MD, PhD, FACS, the Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplant Surgery and Director, Division of Transplant Surgery, in developing and implementing the Transplant Institute. As Dr. Doria explains, the Transplant Institute represents a multi-institutional alignment of the transplant programs within the Jefferson Health System: “Our goal is for participating hospitals to collaborate on strategic, clinical, quality and financial initiatives – thereby strengthening our collective performance,” he says. “The Institute will work to promote standardized clinical pathways and protocols and to deliver a streamlined experience for the patient.” For information about planned giving, or to make a contribution to the Department of Surgery, please contact Lara Goldstein in the Jefferson Foundation at 215-955-8797 or Email Lara Goldstein
Recommended Citation
(2013)
"Those who Give: Art and Gail Pasquarella Support Jefferson Transplant Institute,"
Jefferson Surgical Solutions: Vol. 8:
Iss.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jss/vol8/iss2/8