From June 10-15, transplant recipients and living donors will travel to Cleveland, OH as part of Team Philadelphia – showcasing their athletic abilities, passion and determination as they compete in the 2016 Donate Life Transplant Games of America! Ninety-three transplant recipients and living donors, and twenty-six donor families from the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware will be participating in the Games as part of Team Philadelphia 2016. The Games will welcome Team Philadelphia and more than 6,000 athletes from across the country, who will give it their all as they compete in sporting events such as track and field, basketball, swimming and more!
The Transplant Games is an exciting, biennial Olympic-style competition for organ, corneal, bone marrow and tissue transplant recipients and living donors – and is a great opportunity to highlight the success of transplantation and draw attention to the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors in the tri-state region. Donor family members, whose loved ones gave the gift of life through organ donation, will also travel to Cleveland as part of Team Philly – to cheer on athletes and show their support of donation and transplantation.
Among the attendees at this year’s Donate Life Transplant Games are Chester County residents:
Melissa Coleman, Devon, PA, kidney recipient. Melissa considers her transplant date a new lease on life birthdate and is forever thankful to Sean Clegg, her donor, and his parents, Gail and Andy, for giving her a second chance at life. At the Games, she will compete in the 5K walk/run, track & field and volleyball.
Elizabeth Casperite, Uwchlan, PA, kidney recipient. Elizabeth was diagnosed with PKD in 2004. Her living donor found her through Facebook after she had spent two years on the waiting list. Elizabeth and her donor went from strangers to sisters in just four months. This will be Elizabeth’s first time participating in the games, where she will compete in the 5K walk/run, bowling and the trivia challenge.
Carl Candeloro, Malvern, PA, donor family member.
Susan McVey Dillon, Downingtown, PA, donor family member. In 1995, Susan’s son, Michael McVey, suffered a non-survivable trauma to the head. He became Gift of Life’s first donation after cardiac death donor, and was able to provide transplants to five people. Both Michael’s mother, Sue, and sister, Janette, volunteer with Gift of Life and will attend the Games. Sue also joined the staff of Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human services in 2004.
Sharon Jessar, Malvern, PA, donor family member. Sharon will attend the Games in honor of her son and donor, Jake. When Jake passed away at age 26 in 2014, Sharon asked the medical team about organ donation. Drawing on her Jewish values, she believed that she should help heal others in the world. The loss of one’s child is nearly impossible to accept, and she is hoping the Games will help make meaning of this loss.
Team Philadelphia, organized by Gift of Life Donor Program, has been in existence since the Transplant Games was founded in 1990. Over the past 26 years, Team Philly has become the largest traveling team. Most importantly, the Donate Life Transplant Games allows participants to come together to celebrate donors, recipients and their families, while sharing the awe-inspiring, personal stories that led them to the Transplant Games.
About Gift of Life Donor Program: Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 42,000 organ transplants and an estimated 600,000 tissue transplants. Gift of Life serves as the link between donors and patients awaiting life-saving organ and life-enhancing tissue transplants. One organ and tissue donor can save and enhance the lives of up to 50 people. Register today at donors1.org. It only takes 30 seconds to register.
