E-Newsletter
October, 2019


National Liver Awareness Month

October is Liver Cancer Awareness Month and Liver Awareness Month. 30,000 Americans die each year because of liver cancer. In addition, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are responsible for 65% of the liver cancer cases in the US every year. However, you can take the necessary steps to attack liver disease now; get tested, eat healthier and take care of your body and well-being. The American Liver Foundation has many beneficial resources that are available free on their website, https://liverfoundation.org. Do not wait, take the actions now to keep your liver healthy. 
New Jersey Live Healthy Event

On August 17, NJ Sharing Network hosted Live Healthy and Move, a free event featuring health screenings, fitness activities, nutrition information and family fun in the culturally diverse city of Newark, New Jersey. The event was part of NJ Sharing Network's summer-long "Donation Needs Diversity" initiative encouraging multicultural communities to save and heal lives through organ and tissue donation.

The need is great. There are nearly 4,000 people in NJ currently waiting for a life-saving transplant, 66% are people of color and 162 of them live in Newark. New Jersey Sharing Network President and CEO Joe Roth says, "Successful transplantation is often enhanced by matching organs between members of the same ethnic and racial group. Bottom line, a greater diversity of donors increases potential access to transplantation for everyone."

The “Donation Needs Diversity” initiative also included a Cultural Potluck luncheon at NJ Sharing Network's headquarters, and through a partnership with Walgreens, awareness-raising events were held in Walgreens/Duane Reade locations in Newark and other New Jersey cities where the number of people waiting for a life-saving transplant are among the highest. This month, NJ Sharing Network will host a roundtable discussion with influential multicultural community leaders to discuss ways to best reach, and help save, more lives in diverse cities in NJ.
American Society of Transplantation Scholarship

Calling all students! Want to win a college scholarship while helping a great cause? The American Society of Transplantation is seeking creative content that helps raise awareness in specific areas of transplantation for its Power2Save initiative. It is time to unleash your creative side for your chance to win $3,000 for college.

How to Enter:
Create an original piece of creative content (video, photography, etc.) on one of the following topics:

  • Organ Donation
  • Living Donation
  • The need for transplant research

All content must be submitted by Friday, December 13 at 11:59 PM ET

Applicants are encouraged to share their entry with friends, family, and social networks, to obtain votes. The top 5 submissions will make it to the final round, where transplant recipients will vote on their favorite. For more information on this scholarship opportunity click the button below.
Transplant Games Updates!

2020 Registration Prices

We are happy to announce that prices for the 2020 Donate Life Transplant Games have been set. Below you will find the competitor and non-competitor rates. Stay tuned for registration dates and deadlines.

Competitor Rates

  • Early Registration:     $150.00
  • Regular Registration: $170.00
  • Late Registration:     $190.00

Non-Competitor Rates

  • Early Registration:     $40.00
  • Regular Registration: $50.00
  • Late Registration:     $60.00

Rates for children 6 to 10 years old will be 50% off the above prices, and children 5 and under will be free. 
New Team Leadership Roles

We would like to give a big, warm welcome to all the individuals that are joining us for the 2020 Transplant Games in new team leadership roles:  

  • Team Buffalo - Darlene Aymerich
  • Team Florida - Denise Simpson, Josie Flores-Centrella and Adrian Monsalve
  • Team Illinois - John Kachanuk and Brian Stiner
  • Team Indiana - Lindsey Johnson and Andi Amburgey
  • Team Iowa - Jamie Bell
  • Team Finger Lakes - Michelle Lester and Karen Kline
  • Team Mid-South - Tammy Pate
  • Team NorCal - Celia Guevara
  • Team North Carolina - Darryl Ellis
  • Team Ohio - Lexi Schultz
  • Team Rocky Mountain - Andrew Menard
  • Team South Carolina - Tina Claussen

Please take time to welcome these new team managers when you get a chance. 

If you are still looking to join a TGA Team, visit the link below for a complete list:

You can join the team in the state in which you currently reside, or the state where you had your donation or transplant.
Competition Information

Leading up to the Transplant Games in July 2020, we will be featuring one to two sports in the newsletter. Our goal will be to highlight important rules, provide updates on any changes to the format, as well as increase interest in the competition. When registering for the Games, be sure to review each of the sports you will be participating in for final decisions on competition rules.

Golf and Lyrics for Life

Golf
Fore! The golf competition for the 2020 Donate Life Transplant Games will be held at the beautiful Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth, New Jersey. Known as the "The Golf Course That Never Sleeps," Galloping Hill Golf Course sprawls across 271 acres in Kenilworth and Union, NJ. Characterized by its natural terrain of rolling hills and valleys, the course is often referred to as "The Hill." For the TGA golf competition men will tee off from the white tee boxes, women from the red and seniors from the gold. The course will be a par 73 for all three groups. Men’s and Women’s singles will take place on July 20, 2020 and Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Team and Golf will take place on July 21, 2020. To view the whole scorecard and course layout, visit the link below:


Lyrics for Life
Singing for gold? That is correct! The Lyrics for Life competition is offered as part of the TGA competitions for the vocally gifted to show their talents. The singing competition is divided into three segments:

1. Video audition pre-qualification
2. Preliminaries
3. Finals

Only the first 100 video submissions will be accepted. All video auditions will be judged, and a select number will be chosen to compete at the 2020 Transplant Games. Those selected will compete in the preliminaries on July 19, 2020 with an opportunity to advance to the finals on July 21, 2020. Stay tuned (pun intended) for video audition submission dates. For more details about the Lyrics for Life competition visit: www.transplantgamesofamerica.org/lyrics-for-life.html 
Honor the Journey T-Shirt Reminder

There is still time to order your limited edition “Honor the Journey” t-shirt. If you have the app downloaded already, go to the “Honor the Journey T-shirt” tab. There you will find the T-shirt details and ordering options. 

To download the app:

  1. On your smart phone, go to the Apple App Store for iPhone users or the Google Play Store for Android users, and search “Transplant Games of America.”
  2. Open the app and call up the menu by clicking the button in the top left corner.
  3. Scroll down and find the “Honor the Journey T-shirt” tab. There you will find t-shirt details and ordering options.
In Memoriam

The transplant community extends its condolences to Kevin Green, Manager of Team Australia, and his family for the loss of their brother and son, Jeffrey Green. Jeffery passed away September 25, 2019. and will be lovingly remembered by many.

Passages

TransplantNATION magazine’s Passages page pays tribute to many milestones reached by individuals in our community. We intend to share news of births, marriages, anniversaries, transplant anniversaries, deaths, and any other significant announcements that celebrate the gift of life or acknowledge the support an individual(s) has given to the organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation world.

If you have a tribute you would like to share in an upcoming Passages page, please send your information (35-75 words or less) to Josh Sweedyk at 

Transplant Life Foundation and Transplant Games of America would like to thank you for your support of our mission. The work that we do to educate the public and bring awareness about donation and transplantation would not be possible without your help and commitment.