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6 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
Helen LaCarrubba
Molecular specialist matches organ donors and recipients
LACARRUBBA LOVES WORKING
BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE MEDICAL
WORLD. Although she always aspired to
be a medical professional, she says she’s
not the type of person who likes to be
in the front and center of the action.
“I always thought of myself as way too
emotional to be a nurse and actually
involved in the daily care of a patient,”
she says. “Not that I don’t want to care
for the patient, but I felt like I am too
emotionally invested in the person and
what’s going on with [him or her].”
LaCarrubba didn’t grow up knowing
much about DNA and medical technol-
ogy, but she was fascinated by the field.
“[You had to train] on the job, because
these tests are so specific and special-
ized that we couldn’t learn about them
in college,” she says.
SHE HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT
OF THE LATEST DNA TESTING TECH-
NOLOGY. “We have already brought
in four new types of DNA testing and,
come the beginning of next year, we’re
going to be bringing in the next genera-
tion of sequencing, which is the very
newest test that we can do for a trans-
plant,” LaCarrubba says. “There aren’t
14
FALL 2018 WAYNE MAGAZINE
LOOKING FOR A MATCH Lab director Dr. Prakash Rao,
molecular specialist Helen LaCarrubba and senior lab
specialist Dennis Miguel
a lot of transplant labs doing it yet.”
She hopes that the lab employees will
be able to use the test as early as
January 2019.
HEARING STORIES OF RECIPIENTS AND
DONORS THAT HAVE FOUND MATCH-
ES BECAUSE OF HER LAB WORK IS AN
EMOTIONAL PART OF HER JOB.
LaCarrubba has seen the names of
some individuals waiting for transplants
over and over. She remembers a young
mother who waited years for a trans-
plant, and was finally able to get an
organ; she says that everyone who
worked in the lab at the time remem-
bers the woman’s name, and that they
were overcome with emotion because
she was in desperate need. Often, the
recipients and donor families come to
the staff meetings to share their stories,
a practice for which LaCarrubba is
grateful. “We’re all thankful that we got
to be part of their journey,” she says.
“With some lab jobs, you run a sample,
and never see who or what or where or
why.” Equally poignant is when the
donor family comes in to talk about
their loved one whose organs were
donated, and how they were comforted
by the NJ Sharing Network.
WHEN LACARRUBBA IS NOT IN THE
LAB, SHE RUNS. A RECENT EMPTY
NESTER, SHE SAYS SHE WILL HAVE
THE TIME TO RUN THE MARINE CORP
MARATHON THIS MONTH WITH HER
HUSBAND. LaCarrubba and her hus-
band, David, started running long dis-
tance again since their youngest son
graduated high school and started col-
lege this year; the last time she partici-
pated in a marathon was 25 years
ago. In her spare time, she has been
watching her three sons play sports,
as well as “running short distances,
attending boot camp-style classes at
a gym and skiing most winters,”
she says.
LACARRUBBA HAS BEEN TO EVERY NJ
SHARING NETWORK 5K CELEBRATION
OF LIFE SINCE IT BEGAN. IT IS A WAY
FOR HER TO MEET MORE DONOR FAMI-
LIES AND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS.
Working and running in the 5K for the
past seven years and seeing the partici-
pants in their different team shirts
inspires LaCarrubba. At times, she even
recognizes their names and remembers
the organs they received; during the
2017 walk, she was approached by
someone whose case she worked on.
She likes to stop at some of the tents
and ask recipients what their experiences
with the NJ Sharing Network were like.
AS AN ADVOCATE FOR ORGAN AND
TISSUE DONATION, LACARRUBBA
HOPES TO CONTINUE TO HELP OTHERS
BY BEING A DONOR HERSELF.
LaCarrubba told her parents and hus-
band that if something ever happened
to her, they should donate her organs.
“It helps somebody else down the line,
especially people that we know are
waiting,” she says. “I’d like to say that
I’ve helped in this area, working here.
When it’s the end of my time, I’d like
to say that I helped then, too.” ■
A
fter Helen
LaCarrubba graduat-
ed from Farleigh
Dickinson University
with a degree in med-
ical technology, she
saw a job posting at the NJ Sharing
Network, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to saving lives through
organ and tissue donation, for some-
one with blood bank experience. The
Wayne resident has worked there for
the past 21 years. Today, she is a
molecular specialist who uses the
latest DNA testing technology to
facilitate donor-recipient matches.
WRITTEN BY MEGAN LUPO