E-Newsletter
September, 2020


Hispanic Heritage Month

It is Hispanic Heritage Month. It is a time of cultural celebration and the Transplant Life Foundation is joining in! Our Foundation is dedicated to educating the public about the critical need to put more organs into play, especially among ethnic minorities. Join us through October 15, as we highlight the significance of the Hispanic community in supporting organ, eye, and tissue donation.
CareDx AlloCare Transplant Festival

We are proud to partner with @CareDx on the #AlloCareTransplantFestival! Join us Saturday, September 26, 2020 9am PT/11am CT/Noon ET, for a fun, interactive event for the entire transplant community. This virtual festival will feature trivia contests, cooking demos, a talent show, former NBA and NFL players, prizes and much more! For complete details and to register, visit the link below.

Bill Ryan, President & CEO of Transplant Life Foundation, will be moderating a sports panel with transplant recipients and former professional athletes, John Brockington (Green Bay Packers), David Ayres (Carolina Hurricanes), and Sean Elliott (San Antonio Spurs), as they share their experiences with their kidney transplants and give tips on maintaining health and fitness in the transplant world.
The first 500 festival registrants will receive a special gift, and tomorrow is the last day to submit all entries for the AlloCare Transplant Festival contests. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to register, and enter in one or more of the contest categories!

All contests are open to the entire transplant community, including transplant recipients, living donors, caregivers, friends and family and healthcare professionals!

1. Talent Show Contest: Are you an aspiring singer, dancer or magician? If you have a talent that wows your friends, be sure to submit your video here. First prize will win $2,000!

2. Share Your Transplant Story Contest: Tell us how the gift of organ donation has impacted your life in our #MyTransplantStory contest. Get creative and see if you can tell your story using 280 characters or less on Twitter! The winner will receive $1,000!

3. Recipe Contest: Love to cook? Share your favorite transplant-healthy dish with us for a chance to see it prepared by Celebrity Chef and kidney transplant recipient Chef Ju’von *live* during the festival and win $500! Submit your recipe here. 
 
If you haven’t already, be sure to share your favorite photo to be included in the CareDx transplant community mosaic that will be revealed during the festival grand finale! Send us your photo here.

Details and official rules for each contest are available here. Remember, the clock is ticking — be sure to submit your entries before it’s too late!
Honor the Gift Campaign Update

The Congressional Budget Office conducted an official analysis estimating the Immuno Bill will result in significant savings to Medicare over the next 10 years. Let your Members of Congress know how this bipartisan bill saves lives AND money! http://ow.ly/74GT50B1yVf #HonorTheGift
TransplantNATION Magazine Photo Spread

TransplantNATION magazine wants to keep the transplant community “family” thinking positively, and feeling close to their extended family members while travel and gatherings are limited. Please send us a picture of your family gathering for a special occasion, vacation or just a simple family outing like a picnic, hike or bike ride. Please send a high resolution photo to the link below for consideration in the photo spread in next month’s issue of TransplantNATION.


Transplant Games News!
American Dream Update

On September 3, 2020, American Dream announced they would begin welcoming guests again with the opening of many retail stores, and the re-opening of its acclaimed indoor entertainment experiences on October 1, 2020.

DreamWorks Waterpark, Nickelodeon Universe, Out of This World Blacklight Mini Golf, and The Rink will reopen Thursday, October 1, 2020. BIG SNOW American Dream had previously opened Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

Ensuring the safety of its guests is a top priority for American Dream. The entertainment complex will follow local and state guidelines regarding reduced attendance levels, and extensive health and safety protocols will be followed by all attractions and retailers.

Stay tuned in the coming months as we firm up plans for the TGA-American Dream Experience next July 16-21, 2021.
Competition Corner Nomination

As momentum builds for the 2020 Transplant Games, Transplant Life Foundation will be launching Competition Corner - a competition and athlete spotlight, each month leading up to the Games in New Jersey this coming July. The twenty competitions at the Games are an important part of our mission to increase awareness of organ, eye and tissue transplantation, and to showcase how it has dramatically changed people’s lives. Share in the excitement as we profile some TGA athletes and their return to good health and competition.

Nominate an athlete for consideration, using the link below. Nominations can come from a family member, friend, team manager, etc.

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 (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.