OUR WORK
The Donation and Transplant Community is a broad and diverse group including organ, eye, tissue and bone marrow recipients, donor families, living donors, future transplant recipients and dialysis patients as well as thousands of transplant professionals. As the primary educational and social networking hub for this community and the organizing body for the Transplant Games of America, the Transplant Life Foundation strives every day to advocate for this group.
Recipients
Recipients are tremendous examples of the success of organ, eye, and tissue transplantation and are the public face of incredible stories of courage and determination. Overcoming serious and often life-threatening medical issues, recipients enjoy a new chance at life. However, with this new beginning, comes many lifelong challenges. Through the work of the Transplant Life Foundation, specifically the Transplant Games of America, recipients can connect with each other and with industry experts to stay up-to-date with healthcare, education and lifestyle trends.
Donor Families
Loved ones, who in death, unselfishly provide the gift of life to others, leave a legacy for their families to share with each other and the world. While painful, donor families find solace in the lives of recipients and grieve with the understanding that the loss of their loved one provided life for another individual. TransplantNATION magazine chronicles many stories of sacrifice and donation and the Transplant Games attract thousands of donor families who participate to honor the lives of those no longer with us.
Living Donors
The amazing miracle of transplantation has taken on a new and exciting meaning with the tremendous growth of the living donation of kidney, liver, and bone marrow. Medical advances today have created an opportunity for individuals to provide life to family members in need in an incredible act of generosity, and often to complete strangers. This trend has the potential to significantly reduce the number of patients waiting for an organ transplant in the United States. The foundation will continue to develop programs to support this important group within our community.
Future Recipients
In the United States today there are over 113,000 individuals currently waiting for a life-saving organ. Additionally, there are over 500,000 patients undergoing regular dialysis that would benefit from an organ transplant, and many others facing cornea and tissue needs. The Transplant Life Foundation serves as a bridge to information and programs that support health initiatives that lead to happier and more productive lives.
Professionals
The incredible growth in the donation and transplantation field has created a specialized group of professionals. Donor families, recipients, and caregivers are supported by highly-trained teams made up of transplant surgeons, nurses, social workers, coordinators, and donation specialists who work in a sensitive and often heartrending environments, where loss of life brings an opportunity for new life, to patients in need. The Transplant Life Foundation, through the Transplant Games of America and TransplantNATION magazine, bring these teams to the forefront for recognition and support.