Morgan Miovski

Hi everyone! My name is Morgan Miovski, and I helped cofound SODA and served as the first president in 2021. In late 2019, we found out that my mom had less than one year to live unless she got a liver transplant. After going through the evaluation process, we found out that I was a match! In March of 2020, my mother received the right lobe of my liver, and she ended up making a perfect recovery. I remember this one priceless moment when I was waking up in the ICU, and my father tearfully told me that my mom’s new liver “took immediately.” My family’s experience with organ donation completely changed our lives. I became motivated to share my story and the priceless impact organ donation can have on another person’s and their family’s life. This passion led me down the road to SODA, where I met three other inspiring individuals at Northeastern who were also touched by organ donation, and we founded the club. Some advocacy events we held included a virtual Q&A with the bachelor Matt James, and a Donuts for Donation event where we gave out free Krispy Kreme’s on Centennial while sharing stories about donations. It took a village, but I am proud of what we had accomplished and what SODA has become today. I am now a first-year medical student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and I hope to create more hopeful stories for others, like what was made in my own life.

John Quadarella

By age 17, doctors compared my knees to those of a 70-year-old. Born with bony and ligamentous abnormalities, my kneecaps would unpredictably dislocate, and my cartilage rapidly deteriorated. These conditions progressively limited my mobility, making even simple pleasures like kneeling to pet my dog extremely difficult. Thanks to innovative clinical trials and five selfless tissue donors, the anatomy of my knees was completely reconstructed, changing my life forever. For the first time, I experienced what it was like to have knees that acted and felt my age. Now, I can live without limitations and move freely. My donors live through me with every step I take, every stroke of my blade on the ice rink, and every move I dance with friends.

When writing to my donor families, I promised to honor their legacy by a) moving better than ever before and b) sharing my story to encourage organ and tissue donation registration. Feeling isolated in my experience with tissue donation, I reached out to my advisor at Northeastern, who connected me with Morgan, Andy, and Sophie—all of whom had personal experiences with organ donation. Together, we founded SODA Northeastern to advance education and registration for organ and tissue donation on campus and in the local community. Creating SODA gave me the platform I needed to fulfill my promise to my donor families. By sharing our story, I gained immense fulfillment in educating peers about the importance of registering to donate. I hope my donors are proud of me for starting this movement at Northeastern, as they are just as much a part of SODA as I am.

Sophie Griffin

I was first introduced to the world of organ donation when my aunt, Teresa Sandeman Charles, was diagnosed with two rare and incurable lung diseases. She founded a charity organization called Save5 and dedicated her time to raising awareness and educating the public about organ transplant. Prior to her death in 2014, more than 10,300 people had registered as organ donors through Save5—an incredible legacy that my family was inspired to continue after T passed.

I began volunteering with New England Organ Donor Services while in high school, and it was through NEDS that I was put in contact with Andy, Morgan and John when I came to Northeastern. We had the privilege of starting the Northeastern SODA chapter and it has been incredible to watch the passion grow on campus over the years. SODA gave me an amazing opportunity to honor my aunt’s memory, and I am so proud of and grateful for each and every member who continues to advocate for organ donation through the club.

Andy Bindelglass

My connection to organ donation began in January 2000, two months before I was born. My older brother and sister were in a car accident and my sister Amy passed away. In this difficult time for my family, my parents made one of the most important decisions that anyone can make. They decided to donate Amy’s organs. Amy was a successful heart donor and her recipient, Andrew lived for 11 more years with her heart.

Throughout my life I have been involved with the organ donation community. Growing up I would attend events with my family. In high school I started volunteering and continued this when coming to Boston for college. Through volunteering with New England Donor Services (NEDS), I was connected with Morgan, Sophie, and John and together we co-founded the Northeastern chapter of Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA). SODA gave me an amazing opportunity to tell my family’s story and to bring organ donation advocacy to our college’s campus. I am so excited and proud to see this mission living on with a new generation of SODA leaders!