We're Back!
All of us at TRIO are excited to be back in contact with you after an exciting summer filled with the International Transplant Congress in San Francisco, the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany, and a move to our new email provider, Constant Contact! We hope that your summer was a relaxing and rewarding one and that you join us in looking forward to a busy fall!
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Team USA Excels at 25th World
Transplant Games
Over 150 Team USA transplant recipient athletes, donor athletes, and supporters participated in the 25th World Transplant Games that were held in Dresden, Germany last month.
| | The 110 athletes of Team USA, one of the largest teams at the Games, captured 59 gold medals, 45 silver medals, and and 48 bronze medals during the six days of competition in 16 different sports. | | Over 50 countries traveled to Dresden for competition in 16 different sports, including basketball, darts, swimming, track and field, volleyball, cycling, tennis, badminton, and the triathlon. Over the course of six days of competition, over 2,000 athletes competed in seven age groups to try to win gold. | |
Special thanks to the 2025 Team USA sponsors:
West Virginia University Medicine
Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE)
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Infinite Legacy
Metro East Cycling Club, St. Louis
The members of Team USA are extremely excited about the next World Transplant Games which will be in Leuven, Belgium in the summer of 2027. Several team members have already begun seeking funds to support the team and reduce the expense for each athlete.
The next event for Team USA will be the 2026 Transplant Football World Cup, which will be held next summer. If you are playing or have played soccer, please let Team USA know by contacting us at teamusa.worldgames@gmail.com.
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Kidney Transplant Connectors Webinar
The Kidney Transplant Connectors Program will hold their next webinar on Wednesday, September 17th at 6:30 PM.
The Kidney Transplant Connectors Program is an inspirational presentation for people on a kidney transplant waitlist or considering kidney donation presented by those who have walked in their shoes.
During each program, patients will share their personal stories about receiving and donating a kidney and discuss the importance of self-advocacy.
To register for this webinar, please click here.
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TRIO President Gray-Davis Featured in Cancer Today
"Every day is a gift. I want to use my voice in a good way."
TRIO President Lorrinda Gray-Davis was featured on the cover of the summer issue of Cancer Today and profiled as a tireless advocate for the transplant community.
Lorrinda, herself a cancer survior and liver recipient, was honored to be recognized both for her personal story and for her advocacy work on behalf of organ recipients, as the president of the Transplant Recipients Internatonal Organization (TRIO), as well her role in numerous other organizations and commissions.
Her transplant journey began in 2017 when she was unexpectedly diagnosed with inoperable hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC). After months of intense medical treatment to make her well enough to withstand a liver transplant, she received a new organ on February 20, 2018.
Based on her experiences and emotions while she battled to receive a new organ, she was instrumental in establishing TRIO's online support group for pre and post transplant recipients, and also a separate group for their caregivers. She has become a champion of federal policies to improve access to donor organs and for the medical care and insurance coverage necessary to sustain those organs after transplants.
To learn more about Lorrinda's inspiring story, click here.
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The work of TRIO requires the efforts of many dedicated volunteers and leaders. TRIO has committees active in organ donation awareness, public policy, chapter development, and fundraising. The TRIO Board of Directors develops policy and sets the course for the organization.
As we move into planning our next activity year, your help is needed. If you are interested in serviing on a TRIO committee or on the TRIO Board of Directors, please let us know by clicking on the button below and telling us how you'd like to help. And thank you for joining our efforts to make lives better for organ recipients, their donors, and their families!
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Rhode Island Law to Increase Living Donation
New legislation in Rhode Island will hopefully increase the number of living kidney donations by providing compensation for missed work and other expenses connected with the donation of a kidney.
There are hundreds of Rhode Islanders, like Jeff Zurowsky pictured above, who are waiting for a new kidney and undergoing dialysis. The new legislation is an attempt to remove any financial barriers for someone considering making an altruistic donation of a kidney. The new law will compensate donors for missed work and other expenses associated with the donation for a period of one month as well as job protection. This is done using the state's innovative Temporary Caregivers Insurance (TCI) program.
You can find additional information on this program courtesy of WPRI TV Channel 12 in Providence here.
| | TRIO Peer to Peer Program | | |
TRIO's Peer to Peer support program meets online twice each week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays every month at 7:30 PM Eastern time. There are planned topics but discussions range freely over a variety of subjects. To learn more, click on the image.
To join any of these free sessions, click on the Zoom link: https://zoom.us/join
and use the following login information:
Meeting ID: 916-2033-4133
Password: 85044
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TRIO Care Partners, our program for the families and caregivers of recipients, meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM Eastern time. To learn more, click on the image.
To join Care Partners meetings, click on the Zoom link and use the following meeting information:
https://zoom.us/join
Meeting ID: 826 9024 1864
Password: 85044
| | Additional information on the Peer to Peer program and its companion program for Care Partners can be found on the TRIO web site here. | | OPTN Summer Comment Period Open | | |
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) invites all members of the transplant community to provide your feedback on the policy development process during the Summer 2025 public comment period.
Public comment is now open through October 1, 2025. All comments are reviewed by the OPTN sponsoring committee before finalizing proposals and also considered by the OPTN Board of Directors before voting on the proposal. All perspectives are welcome, including those from patients, donor families, caregivers, organ donation and transplant professionals, and more.
Proposals that are open for comment now are:
Establish a Comprehensive Multi-Organ Allocation Policy 2025
Require Patient Notification for Waitlist Status Changes
Update and Improve Efficiency in Living Donor Data Collection
Require West Nile Virus Seasonal Testing for All Donors
Histocompatibility HLA Table Update 2025
Modify Guidance for Pediatric Heart Exception Requests to Address Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support Equipment Shortage
To learn more about these proposed changes and to express your thoughts and opinions, please visit the OPTN website by clicking here.
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Chapter Chatter--San Francisco
Rooted in Resilience: TRIO San Francisco's Legacy of Connection and Hope
Since its founding in March 1994, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of TRIO has stood as a beacon of hope, connection, and advocacy for transplant recipients, candidates, and their families. Emerging just months after TRIO National launched in October 1993, the chapter quickly became a vital space for education, support, and community-building.
From the beginning, compassionate leaders like Linda O’Hara, the chapter’s first president, and early members such as Monet Thomson, Cheryl Moss, and Bob Moss cultivated a vibrant, intergenerational network—welcoming new faces and fostering lifelong friendships.
Over the years, the chapter has celebrated remarkable milestones. Among them: the inspiring journey of the Stenzel twins, whose story, The Power of Two, chronicled their path from Cystic Fibrosis to lung transplantation and touched hearts across the nation. These stories reflect the chapter’s enduring purpose: to learn from one another, navigate the complexities of transplant life, and uplift each other through every stage.
Nima Chhay, began serving the transplant community as a Membership Chair, Vice President, and continues as President of the San Francisco Chapter of TRIO since 2023. The Chapter has 40 to 50 members who span the nine counties in the Bay Area. However, the chapter embraces geographic diversity and has members in other California counties of Orange and Sacramento, as well as the States of Alaska and Utah.
While time zones and varied interests present challenges, monthly Zoom meetings (held every second Thursday) and twice-yearly in-person gatherings—a summer picnic and a holiday luncheon—keep the more than forty members connected. The shift from hospital-based meetings to virtual platforms has expanded their reach and deepened their impact, especially among younger transplant recipients drawn to the accessibility and warmth of the community.
Read more about TRIO San Francisco on TRIO's website--click here.
| | TRIO Transplantation Library | | TRIO's Transplant Presentation Library is one of TRIO's most important programs of information and assistance to transplant patients and their families. There are almost 200 programs now available that address almost any imaginable topic of interest to the transplant community. Whether you're looking for food advice, how to deal with stress, the latest science regarding transplantation, or just for a great movie, the Transplant Presentation LIbrary will meet your interests. Click on the button below for the full library index: | | | | |
