E-Newsletter
May, 2019


National Donate Life Month

Congratulations to everyone who celebrated Donate Life Month. Kudos to an entire month of local and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors. In 2018, 36,500 transplants brought new life to individuals and their families. However, there are still over 113,000 individuals waiting for their life saving transplant. Transplant Life Foundation continues each day to promote organ, eye and tissue donation and celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation. The need is great. Help by encouraging your friends and family to sign up to be a donor. Send them to www.RegisterMe.org today to save a life!
TLF/TGA Community Events

The Transplant Life Foundation is hitting the road during the next few months to promote our mission:

  • Serve transplant recipients, donor families, living donors, future recipients, and others in the Donation and Transplant community with programs and educational materials to enhance and improve their lives. 
  • Bring together a diverse audience who experiences will demonstrate the impact of donation and transplantation.
  • Increase public awareness of the advances in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
  • Broaden and expand the national and state donor registries by encouraging the public to register to be a donor.

We started at the Blood and Marrow Transplant Information Network in Orlando, Florida last week, where we provided information on our upcoming 2020 Donate Life Transplant Games. We are looking forward to joining others in the transplant and donation community at our upcoming events:

June 1-5, 2019
American Transplant Congress (ATC) in Boston, MA.

June 17-20, 2019
Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Transplant Games Updates!

2022 Bid Documents

Bid documents for the 2022 Transplant Games of America will be available on June 10, 2019. Communities interested in submitting a bid will be able to download bid documents on the Transplant Games website (under the “About” tab in the News and Media section) or you can contact us directly to be placed on a mailing list to receive the information via mail. Important dates to remember:

June 10, 2019, 2022 Bid Documents Released
August 1, 2019, Deadline for Intent to Bid Documents
October 4, 2019, Deadline for Bid Submission
January 10, 2020, Finalists Notified
March 09, 2020, 2022 Winning Bid Announcement
(Date is tentative and subject to change)
TGA Tentative Schedule Debuts 

The 2020 Donate Life Transplant Games schedule “draft” has been released. Please keep in mind that this schedule is tentative and changes will be made. Venues are still under consideration, so updates will be ongoing. There will be an announcement when the final schedule is complete and it will be noted as “Final” on the website. You can find the current draft of the schedule at:

TGA Honors Program Announcement

The TGA Honors Program is responsible for all of the events and activities that pay tribute to Donors and Donor Families who have made the gift of life possible for so many. We are always looking for ways to improve our efforts to recognize and give something back to these very special members of our transplant family.

Thus, we are excited to announce that beginning with the 2020 Transplant Games, Donor Families will be allowed to participate and medal in a limited number of events. These events are:

5K Run/Walk
Ballroom Dancing
Lyrics for Life
NEW: Donor Family Trivia Challenge Event

Stay tuned for more details!
In Memoriam

Shamkant Mulgaonkar, M.D

Dr. Shamkant Mulgaonkar, of New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 16th, surrounded by his loved ones. Since the 1970's, Dr. Mulgaonkar cared for thousands of kidney transplant recipients. He was influential in the development of the Living Donor Transplant Institute and was twice named the “New Jersey Transplant Professional of the Year.” His many research projects on immunosuppressants have been published in many medical peer reviewed journals. Dr. Mulgaonkar’s immense support and exceptional work for the organ donation and transplant community has strengthened and inspired many lives. His presence and caring heart will be greatly missed. 
Bill Wohl

On Thursday night, April 18th, elite athlete and organ donation mentor Bill Wohl passed away. Nearly 20 years ago, Bill was diagnosed with heart failure and received a heart transplant on February 22, 2000.
Bill was an active advocate for transplantation and a member of Team Arizona. He was a highly competitive runner, swimmer, and cyclist at The Transplant Games of America and World Transplant Games Federation. Since Bill’s passing, Cedar Sinai Medical Center donated his remaining organs to those in need. His presence will be missed in the organ donation and transplant community, but his legacy will live on.
Charity Sunshine Tillemann Dick

World-renowned opera singer and organ donation advocate Charity Sunshine Tillemann Dick passed away on April 23, 2019 with her family at her side. She was 35 years old and had been suffering from idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, a disease that affects both the lungs and the heart. In 2009, she received a lung transplant, and then another in 2012. After her surgeries, Charity continued to sing and advocate for organ donation. In 2017, she released her memoir, “The Encore,” which tells her inspiring journey as a double lung transplant. Her radiant energy and tenacity for life will continue to be an inspiration for all those in the organ donation and transplant community.

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.