Dancing for Donation

Eleven couples, including physicians, transplant nurses, an organ recipient, and donor advocates, danced away the night of March 18 at the Aria Banquet Facility in Prospect to raise awareness of organ donation in a time of organ shortages. More than 500 people at the Dancing for Donation Gala, sponsored by Donate Life Connecticut, watched dancers including Yale’s own Joyce Alpert, Manuel Rodriguez and Patricia Aguayo, Bill and Christy Asch, Gary and Deborah Desir (in photo), and Frank and Margaret Bia, perform ballroom routines. Donations made on behalf of the teams raised more than $45,000. The event’s grand champions, Rodriguez and Aguayo, raised more than $10,000. The Desirs won first place in talent, and the Bias took second place.