The Transplant Games of America: Where Donation Comes Alive | EP 39

You can’t fully understand organ donation until you see what it makes possible. Parents reaching milestones they once thought they might miss. Grandparents meeting grandchildren. Families holding both grief and pride at the same time. 

In this episode of Donor Diaries, we take you to the Transplant Games of America, happening June 18 to 23 in Denver. Often described as a “mini Olympics,” the Games bring together transplant recipients, living donors, and donor families for a week that feels more like a family reunion than a competition.

Laurie is joined by three voices who represent every side of the donation story.

• Bill Ryan, donor dad and President and CEO of the Transplant Life Foundation, shares how decades of experience producing large-scale events led him to steward this powerful gathering and why it continues to grow.
• Mark McIntosh, founder of Victory Productions and chair of the 2026 Denver host committee, opens up about living with amyloidosis, surviving kidney failure, and receiving a life-saving transplant in 2024. Now a longtime media personality and motivational speaker, he is using his platform to drive awareness around kidney health and living donation.
• And Kathleen Hostert, living kidney donor and co-founder of Life’s Short. Live It., shares her deeply personal story of donating a kidney to her husband Craig and walking alongside him through transplant, cancer, and the meaningful years they might not have otherwise had.

Together, they explore what makes the Games so unique, why living donation is a practical and powerful response to the organ shortage, and how this community creates space for both celebration and healing.

You’ll also hear what to expect in Denver, from competitions and ceremonies to the moments in between that are harder to describe but impossible to forget. Kathleen shares updates on a large-scale gathering designed to bring living donors and recipients together in one place, inspired by global milestones and grounded in the idea that generosity can ripple further than we imagine.

With National Donate Life Month as the backdrop, this episode is an invitation to move beyond awareness and into action.

Links

Transplant Life Foundation
Transplant Games of America Website
World Record Attempt Details
Victory Productions
Drive for Five
Craig and Katheen’s Walk

Donor Diaries Website
Donor Diaries on Facebook
GiftWorks Website
Connect with Laurie Lee

Transcript

Welcome To Donate Life Month

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's the most incredible place to be around the best of humanity.

SPEAKER_02 0:05

There's a special spirit of this group. We need more of that kind of spirit in our country today.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

April is National Donate Life Month, a time when organ donation gets celebrated, stories get shared, and the transplant community really takes center stage. The need for organs is with us every day, of course, but this month gives us a chance to come together, shine a light on the people and the programs behind donation and transplantation, and truly celebrate the lives made possible through Transplant. So happy national donate life month to everybody. To mark this month, today's episode shines a spotlight on one of the largest and longest running gatherings in the transplant community, the Transplant Games of America. For decades, the games have brought together transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, and supporters from across the country to compete in what many describe as a mini Olympics for the transplant community. It's an incredibly emotional event and a powerful reminder of what life after transplant can look like, while also honoring deceased donors and their families, giving them a chance to see how their loved ones continue to live on through the lives that they saved. This summer, the Transplant Games of America are coming to Denver from June 18th to 23rd, and today's episode is all about getting you excited to be there. I'm joined by three guests: Bill Ryan, donor dad and president and CEO of the Transplant Life Foundation, who spent more than 40 years managing large-scale events and now helps lead the games, kidney recipient Mark McIntosh, founder of Victory Productions, the Denver-based nonprofit hosting this year's games, and Living Donor Kathleen Hostert, co-founder of Life Short, Live It, who will share details about a Living Donor Guinness World Record Challenge happening during the games. Let's jump in.

Bill Ryan’s Donor Dad Story

SPEAKER_01 2:30

All right. Bill, I want to start with you because none of this would really be happening right now without you. You've been running the Transplant Games of America since 2011. Before we talk about the event itself, can you share a bit about your personal story and what led you to this labor of love?

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Well, sure, thank you. You know, even though we got involved in 2011 with the games and the foundation, the reality is it started back in 1986 when my 18-year-old daughter passed away in a car accident. And it was her wishes at the time to be an organ donor. In 1986, it was still a relatively new concept in the medical community. And the fact that this 18-year-old girl had decided to become an organ donor was a pretty profound fact. So we honored her wishes and donated all of her organs and the start of a passion for organ donation because we honored her memory by trying to be involved as much as possible in the transplant world.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

I'm so sorry for your loss. And I know none of us really enter this club by choice, but I guess some of us donors do, but it's it's it's remarkable that you are able to take that pain from Michelle's death and turn it into something beautiful like you're doing right now.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Can you tell us a little bit about Angie too?

SPEAKER_03 3:58

She was a special needs child. She never learned to speak. She had many, many physical disabilities, one of which was a uh problem with swallowing. Every year she had pneumonia because she ingested food into her lungs. And um she had a very painful life. She lived till she was 31 years old. She never gained more than 70 pounds in her life, and she passed away from a chronic lung condition. Her lungs just failed her. She couldn't be a donor. She had suffered from sepsis. And I think in many respects, uh her passing was a relief from a lifetime of pain.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

No parent should have to endure that kind of loss, especially twice. Thanks so much for sharing that that that story with our listeners. I'm I'm sure that can't be easy. To give listeners some context, can you share a little bit about the origins of the transplant games of America and when they began?

How The Games Started And Grew

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Yeah, the well, the transplant games existed in the United States since 1990 as an organized event. It was started by Novartis' predecessor company, Sandos, and was run by the National Kidney Foundation from 1990 through 2010. At that point, the games had grown in size to the point where the Kidney Foundation, not being an event company, had decided that the games were kind of too far away from their strategy and mission. So they they announced that they were giving the games up. And we picked them up in 2011 and decided that we would put on the games. And we jumped in with both feet. And it turned out that it was a lake for love. We said, let's do this. We we formed a separate 501c3 nonprofit. So we've been doing that since 2011, and the games have grown in size every year except for dreaded COVID years. Uh, and we're going gung ho for Denver in 2026.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Well, congratulations on the growth. Who is we when you say we took the games?

SPEAKER_03 6:13

Uh when I say we as a as an organization, we support the games, and many of the employees that that work for the Ryan Marketing Group Technologies actually are the people that put on the games. So when I say we, that's who I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Okay, so you have a whole team of people behind you. You're not the guy answering all the emails.

SPEAKER_03 6:32

No, we have roughly eight people that are making this happen.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Just eight?

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Wow, that actually surprises me. I would have guessed a bigger team than that.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Well, you know, we contract out. Well, first of all, you know, we have the local organizing committee, of which Mark heads up the local group in Denver. We also have a games delivery team, which is a consulting firm that does things like the senior games. They've worked on Super Bowl. There's another team of people that we contract with that actually do the operational land.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

That's incredible. Uh in your eyes, how have the games evolved over the years?

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Well, the games evolved a couple couple of different ways. Some significant ones is in the area of living donation. You know, the idea of living donation has grown in size and scope over the last decade. Living donation is, in my my view, one of the answers to the shortage of organs in the country. All of us have two kidneys. We only need one. There's a big movement afoot across the country to make organs available for people that need them from the living donation world. The second thing is the increase in the number of donor families that participate in the games. So that's where the growth comes from.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

I know that there has been a lot of change and growth over the years, but maybe you can tell us a little bit about the essence of what it's like to be at the Transplant Games of America and what's always been true and the same at the core of the games.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

I would describe it as a family reunion. There's uh once people start coming to the games, generally they come every year. And uh it's an opportunity for people to connect with each other. There's a kind of a dichotomy in that the recipients are there to prove to the world that that organ donation works and that you know we're here to show you that we're back to health. We have a healthy outcome, that organ transplantation has given them a new chance at life. We talk to grandparents who are thrilled to be able to be alive to see their grandchildren born. Their parents are thrilled to be there to talk about the fact that they were there for their daughter's wedding. There's people that are there that you know that want to talk about the things that they've been able to accomplish in life that they didn't have before their transplant. So all of that happens in a world where also the event includes donor families who come to honor their loved ones who passed away. They're there in essence to see the people that got an organ transplant. Doesn't necessarily need to be their loved one's organ. There's a symbiotic relationship of love and emotion that exists for the games.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

It's an emotional family union reunion love fest that sounds like the sports part is kind of secondary to the rest of it.

SPEAKER_03 9:29

A lot of tears, a lot of tears, a lot of hugs, and very emotional.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

So it sounds like this is going to be an emotional week for those of us who are going to the games.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

All right. Absolutely. Yeah, I'll make sure of that.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Thank you. So one of the things that makes the game so powerful,

What The Games Feel Like

SPEAKER_01 9:45

as Bill was saying, is how donors and recipients show up together, which brings me to you, Kathleen. Thank you, Lori. And Kathleen, you donated a kidney to your husband. Can you share a little bit about your journey together?

SPEAKER_00 9:58

I did. I actually met Craig when I was only 17 years old, and I immediately knew he was my soulmate and the one that I was going to marry and have children with. And we were married in 1984. We started our life together. What I didn't know when we first got married was that he would experience kidney disease and that I would someday be blessed to give him a kidney. Um, I was seven months pregnant when he started dialysis, and my son was seven, so it was very overwhelming to start that life that way. Luckily, Nicole, our daughter, was born on a non-dialysis day, so he could actually be there for the birth of our daughter. Thank you, Nicole. Yeah, right. And I went through the testing process, found out that I was a match. And I'll never forget the last time Craig and I went to his dialysis for his last treatment, and we stood at the double doors when we walked out and we held hands and said we are

Kathleen’s Living Donation Journey

SPEAKER_00 10:52

going to do everything in our power to give hope to people who are still in the dialysis center and just to do what we can because organ donation, like Bill said at that time, was not it was not very prevalent. People didn't talk about it. So we really said that we would do everything we could just to continue that story. This journey has truly changed our lives in so many different ways. Beautiful ways, heartbreaking ways, you know, all the things that you have to go through. But because of Living Donation, Craig was able to be at both of his kids' graduations for high school, for college. He walked his daughter down the aisle. He was able to be his son's best man. We were able to renew our vows for our 40th anniversary. So the incredible gifts that came out of that donation were it's amazing. And my kidney lasted for 14 beautiful years. And then he went back on dialysis, and our son Justin gave him a kidney as well. So we've oh wow it's definitely yeah, it's definitely been, you know, within our family, and honestly, one of the easiest decisions I've ever made in my life, and I would do it again and again if I could.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

What an amazing journey with your high school sweetheart.

unknown 12:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

So when you were pregnant, Craig started dialysis. And then how long after you had Nicole did you end up becoming his donor?

SPEAKER_00 12:14

It was two years because I had to wait to go, you know, when you're pregnant, your hormorns are all out of whack and everything. So I had to wait till my body got back to normal. When we did the transplant, both of us, which is different now, but both of us were in surgery at the same time. So we had to find, you know, we had to do like a power of attorney for our kids in case something happened to both of us, which was pretty devastating as parents. But we both have always lived by faith and not by fear.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Wow. What a beautiful thing, too, that your son got to be a second donor. Yeah. So one thing I love is that as you were walking out of his last dialysis session, you were already thinking about what you were going to do beyond just getting him transplanted. And Mark, that actually reminds me of you as well. Because I remember when you were looking for your kidney, you were talking about helping other people. And I was like, Mark, let's get you a kidney first, and then we help all the other people. So

Guinness Challenges And How To Join

SPEAKER_01 13:05

you and Kathleen are cut out of the same cloth there. And you held true to that plan that you were going to do something bigger and help people not have to be in dialysis. You and Craig broke Guinness World Records together in the past. Can you tell me about what that was like doing that as a couple and what that meant to you both?

SPEAKER_00 13:26

It was so meaningful to both of us. And Craig and I, we love just sitting together and thinking, what crazy things can we do? Let's come up with crazy ideas. And we started a walk in California because we really wanted to get the message out there. And we thought, how great would it be to do a Guinness record? So we started the first one at our walk in 2016. We hit it. We were very excited. It was super emotional. And this was for transplant recipients. So how many transplant recipients can you have at one place at one time? And how many did you have? 314 recipients. It starts out as a crazy, like crazy idea. And then you sit back and think, oh my gosh, this is a ton of work. But we were blessed to hit it. We hit it together. It was so amazing. And then because we had been going to the transport games, Craig and I always went to the games together. Bill contacted us and we talked about doing the Guinness Challenge at the Transpunt Game in Salt Lake City. So we partnered with Bill and we actually broke our own record with 540 recipients.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Ooh, you broke it by a lot.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Yeah. For us, it was such a meaningful thing to be able to do together. Again, to be holding hands on stage, but just you know, being there, sharing that moment together was amazing. And also for us, it was a way to acknowledge transplant recipients, but also donor families. You know, donor families are give so much of themselves and it there's so selflessness in what they do. So Craig and I felt like it was another way just to give back to donor families and say thank you for the gifts that they've given.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

As a donor family to be looking at all of these people celebrating life, that has to be extremely moving to know that you're a part of that.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

It is, and that's what's so incredible when you're at the games. You just see all these recipients and you know that if it were not for donor families or a living donor, they wouldn't be there.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

And I know a lot of donor families don't get to meet their recipients, and vice versa. So a lot of families at the games just end up adopting each other.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

So I know that Craig has passed, Kathleen, and I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you. And now you're taking on something huge that you would have historically done with him, and you're gonna do it without him.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

You want to say what that is?

SPEAKER_00 15:35

We are going to have the life short live it, living donor gathering to gather the most living donors ever at the Triadspot Games on June 20th. And I always thank Bill, he has allowed us to do this again. But it's gonna be really weird this time without Craig. It's gonna be hard. And I was driving through Carl's Jr. to get my normal Diet Coke, and Bill called me and I pulled over and he started talking to me and said, Hey, would you be interested in doing a challenge? But I want to we want to do it in honor of Craig to see how many living donors we can get at the games. And honestly, it was I had to sit there for a minute. I literally had to pause. I was feeling it's just so hard without Craig because we literally did every single thing together. And you know, Bill was so kind and we talked about it for a while, and I finally said, you know what? I'm gonna have to just build a shield of courage for myself and strength to do it because really leaving donation is my core of what I believe with organ donation. So this gave me such a beautiful way to continue, but also to keep Craig's memory alive, and the fact that Bill is willing to do it in Craig's honor is such a beautiful thing for myself and my family. And I could hear Craig telling me, do it, do it, do it. I'm certain Craig's gonna be with you through all of this.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

He definitely will be. Well, you're truly honoring Craig. Thank you. So I'm especially excited about this record attempt. Do you know why? I do. Because my my friend Kate, in conjunction with our nonprofit Transplant Village, actually made the record in 2018. And we did it at the Cloud Gate in Chicago, which, for those of you who haven't been there, it's like an enormous bean that looks like a kidney. And we had 410 donors from 38 states and three countries. And it was one of the coolest days of my life doing something in transplant. I just can't say enough good things about what that day was like and what it meant to people to be part of that. One of the reasons I'm so excited that you want to break this record is because I want to be one of the cats and you can herd the cats this time while I just have fun. So I can't wait for you to do this. And I wish you the best of luck breaking the record.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Thank you. And we're honored to break your record because you did the work on the first one, and it's a lot of work.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

It is a lot of work. Bill, do you know how many living donors typically come to the transplant games? Like if we just have the regular number of living donors this year, would that essentially break the record, do you think?

SPEAKER_03 18:21

I'm gonna talk a little bit about the record that we did in 2018 when we set the record for the most number of uh organ recipients in one location, but it was probably only a third of the total number of people that attended the games that would have qualified in that category because there's so much other stuff going on at the games. It's a little hard to convince all of them to drop everything and come and help us break a record. My guess is we'll have between 600 and 800 living donors that'll attend the games in 2026. That's my projection. So we're gonna need all of them to come on Saturday.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Maybe we could think of something, a way to entice them.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

Well, I think we're just gathering everybody. We'll uh we'll figure out what we uh what we're gonna do once we get them all together.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

We also had to prove that we were living donors. So there was a medical paperwork that we had to provide from like a letter from our transplant center. And then if you couldn't provide that, there were doctors from Northwestern on site, and you could go up and flash your abdomen, and then they would sign a piece of paper saying, Yes, this person has had a nephrectomy, which was just so funny to watch the doctor standing there with a line of people like you know flashing the it was great. So so Kathleen, if donors want to participate in this, they don't have to be participating in the games. They can come just for the world record. What do donors need to know if they want to participate?

SPEAKER_00 19:52

They have to be, they have to have donated a kidney, partial liver, lob of a lung, portion of their pancreas, a section of their intestines. Any living donor can join from anywhere across the world. They do not need to attend the games. They'll be able to have a separate site that they can register to just for the Guinness Challenge on June 20th. And then we will have a medical waiver like you did, Lori. They'll have to have their physician fill out a form. And then on site, we're working with them right now with our adjudicator to see what's required the day of. And hopefully they will be able to just flash and show their scar if needed. But as of now, there'll be a separate red web registration website that they can go to that's on the Transplant Games of America website. Um, they'll be able to register, fill out their forms, get all their information because it's intensive to gather everything. We're trying to do everything up front we can to make it easier that day.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Yes, that's a great idea. So we did that and we had 570 people fill out the paperwork in advance, and we actually had four ten at the at the count, which I thought was interesting. I thought for sure we were going to be over 500. So to your point, like people really have to want to be a part of this. And there's a little bit of work involved and they need to follow through on it.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

And I hope they do. Yeah. But it's, you know, it's not every day that a space is built just for living donors. And I think this is such an incredible opportunity for them to get just like you did in yours, Lori, to be able to stand in one place at one time for 10 minutes and just embrace each other and have conversations and talk about their donation and talk about what they've been through and what they were able to give to others. It's I think it'll just be such a beautiful space to be in.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

I think it will be too. I can't wait. So thank you for doing this in honor of Craig. Thank you. And I promise not to ask you for volunteering. All of this is happening in Denver, Colorado. What's the dates for it?

SPEAKER_02 21:43

June 18th through the 23rd.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Okay.

Mark’s Transplant Story And Denver’s Role

SPEAKER_01 21:47

And Mark, the city plays a big role in the story. Mark, you're a transplant recipient and you live in Denver. Um, before we jump into your role at the transplant games, do you want to share a little bit? about your transplant journey?

SPEAKER_02 22:01

Sure. And I I want to volunteer myself to be the person that before we try to set this record, I'll remind everybody please go to the bathroom before you so that we can make sure that we're a hydrated bunch for the most part.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

So that's really good advice. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

Well a little background. I came to Denver in 1988 as a sportscaster for Channel Four. So I've been in the media business for a long time and um just have grown to love the state and city and and I love so much that when I get to move around the state I get to talk about this is the largest celebration of life in the world. And I I was sold the minute that Bill and I met and he shared his why and then you hear Kathleen's why. You hear so many amazing stories here. But about three years ago I was filling up my car at the local gas station where I know all the guys in there. And so I walked in one day and my buddy Steve, who runs the gas station, he goes, you look like crap, man. Your face has fallen off your head. And you could tell he was serious. And so I went to my doctor and I shared the story of what my buddy at the gas station had said and he ran some tests and we found out my kidneys were failing. So we did a kidney biopsy and it revealed I have a rare incurable blood cancer called amyloidosis. And so I was immediately thrown into chemo to fight off the cancer and I was started dialysis because it was killing my kidneys and I had 15 months of dialysis before a 68 year old woman in Pueblo, Kathy Hitchcock, shared her spare and saved my life. And Kathleen, you were talking earlier about walking in faith and not in fear. And I believe I got a second chance and I believe God's calling me to do whatever I can given my platforms out here and my background in communications to get out there and just encourage people to consider sharing their spare and then also try to encourage people to get healthier because one of the problems we have today with the growing kidney transplant list is our lifestyles, American lifestyles, high blood pressure diabetes and excessive weight are horrible for our organs, especially our kidneys. And so I just kind of feel called to do my best to as the chair to be out there and welcome everybody to join us for the largest celebration of life. We're going to honor those making it happen, educate about organ eye tissue bone marrow donation and just encourage people to a healthier living. And I just feel very grateful to have the chance to do that.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

So what does it mean to be the host for this event? What's the difference between you and Bill?

SPEAKER_02 24:56

You know on a local basis we work with the Transplant Life Foundation and so my job locally is to raise money raise awareness. It's also Colorado's 150th birthday you know I moved here almost 40 years ago and I can remember when I moved here I took pride that I was moving to what was considered the healthiest state in the country. Colorado's grown tremendously we've got a lot of challenges out here. This is the springboard to a healthier Colorado and the largest celebration of life.

SPEAKER_03 25:30

Mark has kind of tied the transplant community to healthier living is a theme that I think resonates across the board. You know I think there's a movement right now in the United States to to be healthier and live healthier living but if we can take that message and carry it on to 2028 in St. Paul, Minnesota and then beyond to the next set of games after that, we're more than willing to do it.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

The big splash is in Denver but the ripple effect will be throughout the Rocky Mountain West I think the message that we want to send to Colorado and beyond is that we can work together and we can save a lot of lives through educating people about organ donation and educating people about the importance of wellness. We're presenting these games as a springboard to a healthier Colorado and America what a birthday gift to Colorado and America on their 150th and 250th birthday healthier that is that's a great gift. I like that can you imagine what the Uber drivers are going to think they're going to hear a lot of stories you know and and there's a special spirit of this group we need more of that kind of spirit in our country today.

Events, Who Can Compete, What To Expect

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Can we talk a little bit about what we can expect in terms of competition at the games who can go who can participate and what are they participating in? And I'll give that to whoever wants to answer it.

SPEAKER_03 27:03

You know we have 21 competitions that are available to living donors and recipients to compete in it ranges from badminton to cornhole to basketball to tracking field there's a almost every athletic adventure is available to do during the games team sports there's basketball and volleyball you know the rest of it is individual or partner events. It's an amazing opportunity that they compete for gold silver and bronze medals they take it very seriously. Most of them are in training right now to compete and we're excited to to do that. The special moment for the athletes are that the the winners get up on the podium just like the Olympics we have donor families that hang the medals on the athletes and the donor families love it because it makes them feel like they're a part of it. And for the recipients having the donor families hanging the medals is a very special moment. They're so appreciative of the donor families hanging the medals. Now I will tell you that in Denver we're doing something different that we've never done before and we're letting donor families compete we've got a special donor family trivia night and we have a number of events that we've opened up for donor families to compete in ballroom dancing lyrics for life can't remember all of them off the top of my head but there's you know there's plenty of opportunity for people to come out and compete and cheer the fans on and and we'd love to have everybody participate.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Checking out your website transplantgamesofamerica.org we've got a 5k run basketball cycling cornhole golf swimming volleyball badminton bowling texas hold'em poker pickleball trivia challenge youth olympiad ballroom dancing lyrics for life table tennis track and field darts virtual triathlon and tennis so there's there's something for everybody in there absolutely what are you three going to participate in?

SPEAKER_02 29:13

So golf and certainly running and uh maybe pickleball I don't know how much time I'm gonna have to compete as the chair of the game I think that's true Mark and I think because it's your first games and won't be your last you got to do at least one thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

I'm planning on doing the 5k and then the rest of my attention will be on the gathering and making sure everything goes well with that.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

And what about you Bill? Now that donor families can participate this is your first chance huh?

SPEAKER_03 29:44

Yeah no I'm not gonna be competing I've got too many other things going on that uh I'll come all I'll probably I'll probably pass on competing.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Any

Why Attendance Matters And How To Register

SPEAKER_01 29:55

other comments on who should consider attending anything any details about the games that you want our listeners to know about especially if they're sitting on the fence about coming yeah I'd like to add comment that hasn't come up on on this call.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

We talked a lot about the 1000 plus people that are on the list waiting for an organ that's not available for them. And we touched briefly on the health aspects for everybody in Colorado and maybe across the nation but the reality is that underneath the list of people that are waiting for an organ, there's probably a half a million people that are suffering from kidney disease that aren't even on the list can't support that. So that's my message is it's not a hundred thousand it's probably half a million to a million people that that are suffering from disease that should be considering transplant today.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

I think that's a really important thing to point out because we talk about 90,000 people waiting for a kidney when in reality there's a half a million on dialysis some who aren't qualified for transplant but some who just don't know it's the best option because they haven't been referred and that's a problem that really needs to be solved.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Yeah great and I think to yours your question more if anybody's on the fence about going it's the most incredible place to be around the best of humanity who you have donor families who are there celebrating their loved ones which is all they want to do. They want their loved ones remembered Bill and the Transplant team and the games have offered an opportunity for them to have a place to go. It's like a family reunion they get to honor their loved ones the whole time they're there they wear buttons they wear pictures they share stories and then you have the recipients who are showing what life has given them because they've been given this gift of life you have living donors who are just there because they gave the gift of life and they want to continue to celebrate and it just gives so much help for people who are waiting to actually witness all of this in one place it's it's just I I can't say enough to commend Bill and the team for providing this beautiful space for people to just exist and celebrate life the best of humanity that really sums it up for me.

SPEAKER_02 32:11

So do Kathleen and I get some time taken off our 5K since we're flatlanders running at a mile high no no no cheaters you gotta train you got a train and hydrate hydrate hydrate us in the transplant world always need to do that but especially at altitude.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Okay so where do people go to sign up and to learn more? Transplantgamesofamerica org well thank you all three of you for making time to to do this podcast with me. It's um very exciting for me to get to have this time with you before the actual games itself and I can't wait to see all three of you at the games I can't imagine how much it takes to get you know organized 12,000 people and I just really thank you for creating a space where so many of us can come together to have this family reunion that I think ultimately is a source of connection. So thank you all for for what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

You're very welcome thank you all for what you do laurie as well you're making a difference.

SPEAKER_01 33:16

All right the Transplant games of America are held every other year here in the United States while the world transplant games take place internationally in the alternating

Record Update And New Community Goal

SPEAKER_01 33:26

years. But we hope that you're going to join us in Denver this summer you can visit transplantgamesofamerica.org to learn more and to register and that link will be in my show notes as well but I have to tell you between the time we recorded this podcast and today as we launch it there was a huge development regarding the Guinness record. A group in Israel organized a gathering of 965 living donors and have officially broken our record, which was 410 donors. They demolished our record. And with that I'd like to extend my sincere congratulations to the organizers and participants for reaching a truly remarkable milestone in support of living donation. I also want to note that Israel has emerged as a global leader in living kidney donation with one of the highest per capita rates in the world and a notably high proportion of nondirected donors. This progress reflects a strong cultural commitment to helping others as well as the work of community-based organizations that actively promote and support living donation. Israel has created an environment where living donation is encouraged and normalized. Truly amazing huge congratulations to our donor friends in Israel so now in Denver Kathleen and her team are attempting to set a new record that has never been tried before the focus is no longer on breaking the donor record alone. Instead the new goal is to gather the largest number of organ donors and recipients in one place, bringing a much larger part of the transplant community together for this event, which I just love. I love this concept. And as Kathleen puts it it reframes the record to show generosity and second chances standing side by side. A huge thank you to Bill, Kathleen, Mark, and everyone working behind the scenes to bring this event to life. I truly cannot wait to be there and I hope I get to see some listeners there

Sponsor Thanks And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_01 35:18

as well. This season of Donor Diaries is sponsored by Giftworks, an organization dedicated to education, advocacy and support for organ recipients and living donors. Giftworks celebrates the courage it takes to ask for help and the miraculous ways help often answers. Within this growing community recipients, families and donors come together to participate in a transformative exchange that reminds us of the power of human connection. Visit yourgiftworks.com to learn more.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

This is Lori Lee signing off the city