BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield’s Tony Moyet had a very special reason to celebrate Independence Day this year: the anniversary of his life-saving double lung transplant.

A year ago, Moyet underwent his surgery at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and New Jersey Children’s Hospital.

His transplant has a heroic origin, according to the nonprofit NJ Sharing Network:

“On September 11, 2001, Moyet was one of the heroic New York Waterway ferry captains who helped evacuate people from Manhattan after the attack on the World Trade Center. He continued to work at Ground Zero for another year and a half, carrying personnel and supplies to workers and recovering first responders.In 2018, Moyet began having difficulty breathing and was diagnosed with COPD and emphysema.Doctors have attributed his condition to the contaminated air at Ground Zero.

Now – after his successful transplant – Moyet said he looks forward to enjoying many more special moments with his family and friends.

“My lungs are working very well,” Moyet said. “My doctors are amazing people – miracle workers. I am truly humbled and forever grateful to the donor hero who gave me my new lungs.”

With the help of the NJ Sharing Network, Moyet hopes to raise awareness of his transplant in an effort to raise awareness of the “power of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.”

According to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 100,000 Americans — nearly 4,000 of whom live in New Jersey — are waiting for lifesaving transplants. One organ and tissue donor can save eight lives and improve the lives of over 75 others.

Last year, 233 people in New Jersey “gave the gift of life” — an all-time high for the year, the NJ Sharing Network said. In addition, 42,112 eye and tissue donations healed and improved the quality of life of people in need.

To learn more, get involved, or register as an organ and tissue donor, visit the NJ Sharing Network website at www.NJSharingNetwork.org.