TRIO National 
Member E-News  
October 2019
Inspiring transplant news for :
 
 
"And as a transplant recipient, having received the gift of life - often from a stranger or maybe even from a living donor - and also as families of those gifted patients, we can understand that quote even better than those less challenged, yes?"
 
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YOU are invited!  
 The TRIO national board will hold its annual face-to-face national board meeting in Kansas city, MO Oct 11th (10am to 5pm) and 12th (9am to 3pm) 
at the Midwest Transplant Network offices.
 
click above for MTN web site
All TRIO board meetings are open and you are welcome to attend in person or virtually using our meeting conferencing link . . .
 
E-mail to info@trioweb.org to get audio or video conferencing access 

(or if attending in person, write to info@TRIOweb.org for preferred rate hotel info) 
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Sincerely,  
TRIO president
            GleasonJim@aol.com
(609) 877-4493
Celebrating my 25th anniversary this October 19th
with a VERY successful heart transplant
thanks to Roberto Cuebas,
my heart donor:
"TRIO thanks CareDx for their years of supporting TRIO
both locally and at the national level
and
for their pioneering work for the transplant patient"

Click above to learn more . . .
A special report: The reality of TV medical dramas
"Medical dramas do a good job of grabbing our attention, but do they do a good job of getting the facts right?"

by Bryan Overstreet & Jay Siltzer

Cutting edge medical breakthroughs can play a controversial role on t-v dramas like 'The Good Doctor" and "Grey's Anatomy." That's because what you see on TV often times isn't
>> Click on the image above to watch the full story.
Learn More
This Pennsylvania Woman Was "Almost Grateful" That She Needed a Heart Transplant

Between Alin Gragossian's emergent surgery and her workplace closing - she was a resident physician at Philadelphia's Hahnemann hospital before it shut down in August - she's had a hell of a year. Here's why she's remained upbeat.

click above to read her full story

from that on-line story:
How are you feeling now? How do you think this experience will affect you going forward?
I think that I've gained a lot of wisdom in just nine months. I think that we never really know how strong we are until we are tested in the most pressing of ways. People keep asking me how I 'did it all.' And I say, 'Well, I wasn't given a choice.' I just kept getting handed things that I had to deal with, and I tried to make the most of each struggle. It wasn't easy, but I came out a stronger person. I read somewhere something along the lines of, 'Your character is built upon how you handle the toughest of situations.' And I truly believe that. These experiences taught me so much more in less than one year than my whole life has taught me in 31 years.

  Learn More
September 2019 
Living Kidney Donors Network Newsletter

90+% of Living Kidney Donors Knew Their Recipient Before the Transplant
If you are in need of a kidney transplant there's nothing more important than spreading the word about your situation. When friends and family members help spread the word, their contacts may know you too, but may not have known about your need. REACHING PEOPLE YOU KNOW, OR THAT KNOW YOU IS THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL LIVING KIDNEY TRANSPLANT EXPERIENCE.

Read Harvey Mysel's full issue here

October 2nd deadline for making your voice heard via UNOS public comment

Good afternoon Jim,
 
We appreciate TRIO's willingness to engage with the OPTN on the 8 initiatives currently out for public comment. The OPTN Public Comment period will be concluding on October 2, 2019.  The initiatives and portal to submit feedback or suggestions can be found on the OPTN website (https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/governance/public-comment/).
 
In addition to the OPTN page that includes the public comment papers, UNOS published a   new page about public comment last week that features a more plain-language presentation of proposals currently out for public comment and the process itself. This new page includes examples of public comments from the OPTN website in addition to comments from regional meetings, and we will add additional comments every few days through the rest of the public comment cycle.
 
Our goal is to foster more participation and engagement, so that more voices are heard- those of members as well as patients and donor families.
 
The page highlights the fact that while there are differing opinions:
  • Policy development is driven by the community
  • Public comment and regional meetings are an arena for dialogue and feedback
  • This feedback is valuable because it helps with the policy development process
 We would appreciate it if you share this new website with your transplant connections and encourage them to participate as individuals, as well as on behalf of an institution or organization with which they are affiliated.
 
Kind regards,
 
Christopher L. Wholley, M.S.A.
Transplant Community Administrator
 
Learn More
Stay Connected with TRIO on-line at http://TRIOweb.org or http://TRIOwebPTC.org and: