TRIO E-News September 1st, 2020

Greetings! As Summer moves ever closer to another Fall season with so many unknowns and back-to-school challenges, we hope this finds you and yours safe in these very challenging times.

TRIO thanks its many supporters for their donations You (or your TRIO chapter) can still donate to the 2020 TRIO scholarship program as done by many chapters and more recently, as another example, by individuals like San Francisco TRIO members, Rusty & Kate L. who gave $500 to support a scholarship. You would be helping some of the over 20 students who applied for scholarships this year - TRIO (and they) need YOUR help! Thank you, Dorene K. - hers is yet another individual donor example with a recent $250 gift. "Thank YOU!" (they all add up) Last year TRIO received over $20,000 in individual donations as memorials, from social media fund raisers (one alone raised over $6,000!), individuals celebrating life milestone events (inviting family and friends to forego presents with this more meaningful way), TRIO board members, each making a difference with their generous support while sharing the success of organ donation and transplant as inspiration to others to register their own commitment to being an organ donor with their story! Something to celebrate! In honor of our own Elizabeth Rubin's recent celebration of surviving/thriving 28 years with her liver transplant, family friends Cordelia & Don donated $2,000 (plus $60 to cover fees) to TRIO - what a beautiful way to celebrate transplant milestone successes. "Congratulations on that awesome milestone, Elizabeth!" (she has been a fully engaged TRIO member/leader for all those 28 years!) Note: You can launch your own celebration event with a Facebook funding campaign for TRIO using this link: https://www.facebook.com/fund/TransplantRecipientsInternationalOrganization/

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Looking for some new entertainment?

While NOT a TV series about organ transplant as such (it appears the title refers to the move - transplant - of a doctor to a new home), Tuesday (Sept 1st) at 10pm (ET) NBC is launching a new medical series imported from Canada, where it launched last February and became a 'hit' there. The 13-episode series centers on Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed, a Syrian doctor with battle-tested skills in emergency medicine who fled his country with his younger sister, Amira. Together they struggle to build a new life in Canada as Bash strives to rebuild his career in medicine. Based on recent promos, it looks like an interesting show to follow, even if it isn't about our 'transplant' topic (but I'll be there is an organ transplant story in the series somewhere!).

Sincerely, Jim Gleason TRIO President GleasonJim@TRIOweb.org (609) 877-4493

In-home blood draw service offered by CareDx     In response to the COVID-19 crisis, CareDx launched RemoTraC: Home-based blood draws for transplant patients. RemoTraC is available to all patients who want their transplant monitoring lab tests to be drawn from the comfort of their home by trained mobile phlebotomists. RemoTraC includes AlloSure and/or AlloMap, CareDx's surveillance tests, along with a panel of routine tests.     Patients can sign up for RemoTraC through an easy to use webpage: www.caredx.com/remotrac.     Once enrolled in RemoTraC, a CareDx Patient Care Manager will coordinate with your transplant center and contact you by phone to schedule an appointment. Prior to the appointment, we will mail you a test kit. A licensed mobile technician will then come to your home, take a blood sample, and deliver the sample to the lab for processing. CareDx will fully cover the cost of the mobile phlebotomist, and will ensure you pay no additional out-of-pocket expenses beyond what you typically pay for these tests. TRIO thanks CareDx for the many ways they support our mission.

Learn more

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TRIO to join CareDx for a SPECIAL AlloCare Transplant Festival Date: Saturday, September 26th, 2020  Time: 9am-12pm PT/12-3pm ET   Pre-Event Contests/Engagements  ·         Twitter “My Transplant Story” ·         Transplant Community Photo Wall Mosaic ·         Favorite Recipe Contest  Live ·         Community Trivia Challenge ·         Talent Show (Judges + Audience Polls) ·         Live Performance by Angelica Hale ·         Cooking Segment (Celebrity chef will demonstrate a version of winning recipe) ·         My Transplant Story Winners ·         Photo Wall Mosaic Reveal ·         The Engaged Patient/AlloCare App (Patient Panel)  ·         Transplant and Sports (Patient Panel): Transplant Life and Fitness (David Ayres, John Brockington, and more) ·         Virtual yoga/Meditation (Phelicia Price) Click here to preregister: http://caredx.com/transplantfestival

Remember this story? "Bride Walks Down Aisle With Man Saved by Her Father's Heart Donation" - now with almost 1,000,000 views on YouTube . . " click here to watch/enjoy the story again or for the first time

More and more Members of Congress are getting the message: Medicare kidney transplant recipients across the country have waited long enough. This bill to extend coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for the lifetime of a transplant recipient has earned bipartisan support, will save the federal government money, and most importantly will save lives.   But this increase in support isn’t enough; the clock is ticking and we need Congress to pass this bill before the year ends! Please tell your legislators to keep the momentum going and ensure all kidney transplant patients can access the drugs they need to maintain their transplant.   Transplantation is a healthier and less expensive treatment for end-stage kidney disease. Maintaining transplants after they’ve been donated and keeping patients off expensive dialysis is better for the patient, the provider, and the Medicare system alike. This legislation has passed unanimously out of House committee and will save taxpayers $70 million over ten years.   Add your voice now on behalf of kidney transplant patients nationwide and help them make the most of the lifesaving gift of a transplant.

Visit HonorTheGift website

Support for the Immuno Bill continues to grow! With 70+ cosponsors in the House and 15+ in the Senate, we’re more confident than ever that 2020 will be the year this critical legislation passes! Make sure your legislators are on the list: https://honorthegift.org/act/ #HonorTheGift

Invitation: A Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Research Poll

Following your transplant, was cytomegalovirus (CMV) ever considered an issue or a complication? We are looking for information from individuals who have had difficulties in managing CMV post-transplant, or who have experienced multiple CMV episodes. If you have experience with this, please complete this short, anonymous poll (three questions only) to help us understand your experience with CMV. Poll Link

Couldn't join when those transplant educational webinars were scheduled? You can still view them . . . (click on above image to view the latest) If you haven't experienced those posted virtual events listed in prior issues, try the following and see how enjoyable they can be at TRIO Transplant Presentation Library now with over 114 programs indexed by topic on our website: https://TRIOweb.org under RESOURCES.

Click image to register

Read the policy proposals and papers in their entirety and view their summaries “At a Glance” on the OPTN website.

Make Your Voice Heard! Summer UNOS 2020 Public Comment Now open until October 4! The OPTN committees value your input and consider all comments when developing final proposals to submit to the OPTN Board of Directors. View the policy development process here. Learn more about public comment here. This cycle, public comment items are sponsored by the following committees: Ad Hoc Disease Transmission Advisory Committee Executive Committee Heart Transplantation Committee Lung Transplantation Committee Living Donor Committee Liver and Intestinal Organ Transplantation Committee Vascularized Composite Allograft Transplantation Committee

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Another way to support TRIO: Amazon Smile! Good news! AmazonSmile is now available in the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. AmazonSmile customers can now support Transplant Recipients International Organization Inc in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings' Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process selecting TRIO as your support organization

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