By Scott R. Axelrod
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Police Officer Anthony Cantore delayed the start of his NYPD career for a reason few recruits ever face: to save his father’s life.
In December 2023, Cantore donated one of his kidneys to his father, Thomas Cantore, a retired NYPD lieutenant who had spent two years on dialysis while awaiting a transplant.
Nearly two years later, Cantore, 26, of Great Kills, joined 970 fellow graduates from the New York Police Department Academy on Monday for a ceremony at Madison Square Garden — continuing a three-generation family legacy in the department.
“It was a very big decision,” Cantore said of donating his kidney. “I didn’t start right away because it’s a big thing to do. I needed to make sure I was even able to donate.”
Anthony Cantore had been preparing to enter the academy when he learned he might be able to help. At 24, he discovered he was a match for his father.
Cantore, who has O-negative blood — making him a universal donor — began the transplant evaluation process in May 2023, traveling monthly to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan for tests and medical screenings.
“It was pretty straightforward,” he said. “I came back with a clean bill of health.”
The transplant allowed his father to return to a normal routine after several years of dialysis.
“I’m extremely happy and grateful that I was given the opportunity to do this,” Cantore said. “My dad is doing great. He can live normally now.”
Thomas Cantore, 64, said his health has greatly improved since the surgery. He now undergoes blood tests about every six weeks to monitor kidney function.
“Everything’s great,” he said. “It’s working fantastically.”
The retired lieutenant said the decision to donate came entirely from his son.
“He volunteered his kidney to me,” Thomas Cantore said. “He saw what I was going through with dialysis and how I was feeling and he stepped up. I wouldn’t ask him to do it. He made that decision on his own.”
Continuing a family legacy
The transplant delayed Anthony Canatore’s entry into the NYPD , but did not end his plans to follow the same path as other members of his family.
He took the NYPD entrance exam in 2021. With results valid for four years, he remained eligible to join the academy in 2025, after his father’s successful surgery.
Anthony Cantore is a third-generation member of the department. His grandfather, Anthony Cantore , retired as a detective second grade, and his uncle, James Cantore , retired as a sergeant.
“Right now, I’m a third-generation police officer, continuing my family’s legacy,” Cantore said.
After graduating college and working in Manhattan for several years, Cantore said he began reconsidering his career.
“I wasn’t happy,” he said. “My father asked what I really wanted to do, and I said I’d like to be a police officer. He was behind me 100%. And I’m behind him 100%.”
Cantore said his time at the academy has been positive.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Everyone’s helpful. I couldn’t ask for better instructors.”
For his father, the pride comes not only from the life-saving transplant, but also from seeing his son carry on the family tradition.
“I’m glad he decided on his own to do this and I was very happy that he did it. Keeping this legacy going,” Thomas Cantore said. “The Police Department’s been good to us. I like the way they’re teaching them now in the academy. I’m very proud of him.”
Recognition from the commissioner
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch highlighted Cantore’s story during Monday’s graduation ceremony.
“For some of you, the path to this moment runs through generations of service. Anthony Cantore grew up in one of those families,” Tisch said.
“His grandfather served as an NYPD detective, his father as a lieutenant and his uncle as a sergeant.
“From an early age, Anthony knew he wanted to follow in their footsteps. But before he could begin his own career, he faced a different challenge.
“His father needed a kidney transplant. Anthony stepped forward and donated his kidney to save his father’s life. That decision delayed his own journey into this department, but it gave his father a second chance at life.
“And because of that act of love and selflessness, his father, retired Lt. Thomas Cantore , is here today to watch his son graduate.”
A career remembered
Decades before the transplant, Thomas Cantore himself was recognized for his police work.
In March 1993 , the Staten Island Advance named Cantore “Police Officer of the Month” for his role in stopping a string of robberies that had unsettled residents across Staten Island .
Assigned to the NYPD’s 122nd Precinct, Cantore was then honored alongside Officer Michael Morrone and Detective Robert Walsh at a ceremony in New Dorp.
The crime spree began with a street robbery in New Springville and escalated when a group of young men stole a 1992 Jeep Cherokee from the Staten Island Mall .
The suspects used the vehicle to commit multiple robberies across Bulls Head, Richmond Valley , Eltingville and Great Kills, targeting teenagers for jackets and money, police said. In one incident, a woman was dragged several feet during a purse-snatching, according to police.
Cantore and Morrone were on routine patrol along Hylan Boulevard in Great Kills when Cantore spotted a vehicle matching the stolen Jeep.
He pulled the vehicle over at Hylan Boulevard and Woods of Arden Road in Eltingville, and when the four occupants fled on foot, Cantore and Morrone apprehended two suspects while other responding officers captured the rest.
Walsh later linked the group, led by 18-year-old Rogelio “Roger” Ferrer, to multiple robberies, a burglary and the auto theft.
At the time, Cantore was a Pleasant Plains resident with three years on the force and a management degree from Pace University.
A gift of life
A living donor kidney transplant occurs when a healthy person donates one of their kidneys to someone whose kidneys are no longer functioning properly.
Because the organ comes from a living donor, the transplant can often happen sooner than waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor and may function better over the long term.
For recipients, this can mean less time on dialysis, more energy and a significantly improved quality of life.
People interested in learning more about living kidney donation can contact hospital transplant programs, the National Kidney Foundation or government health websites for information about eligibility, the evaluation process and the risks and benefits involved.
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