NYPD officer dispatched on 9/11 recounts double lung transplant: 'I feel very lucky'

Former NYPD officer dispatched on 9/11 receives double lung transplant

A retired NYPD officer who was dispatched to the World Trade Center on 9/11 received a double lung transplant that saved his life. FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis has more.

NEW YORK - A retired NYPD officer who was dispatched to the World Trade Center on 9/11 received a double lung transplant that saved his life.

‘I feel very lucky’

What we know:

William Giammarino, a retired member of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit, was dispatched to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Giammarino returned to Ground Zero nearly every day over the course of the next five months to perform various duties.

He was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) one year later. Symptoms of COPD include trouble breathing, a consistent cough that brings up mucus and wheezing.

Giammarino initially managed these symptoms with an inhaler. His condition worsened as time went on, leading to him being taken to the emergency department at Northwell's Mather Hospital about three years ago.

The retired officer left that visit with an oxygen tank, as well as a spot on the waiting list for a lung transplant.

Fortunately, the 19-year police veteran of Holbrook, Long Island received a double lung transplant on September 9, 2024.

The transplant was performed at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset – the only lung transplant program on Long Island. The procedure was covered by the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program.

WTC Health Program

The WTC Health Program is a federal health care program that provides medical monitoring and treatment for conditions to those directly affected by the September 11 attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Of the nearly 137,000 current members of the WTC Health Program, more than 55,000 have been diagnosed with some type of respiratory disease.