Solid organ transplant events

April is national donate life month

During national donate life month, encourage others to sign up as donors!

donatelife.net

SOT holiday party

Each December, the Solid Organ Transplant Programs host a holiday party for transplant recipients and their families.

(content from organdonor.gov)

January: National Volunteer Blood Donor Month
A time to highlight the importance of giving life through the donation of blood and to honor past and present donors and encourage new ones. The theme, Give Blood…The Gift of Life, is as constant as the need for blood.

February 14: National Donor Day
Focused on five points of life: organs, tissues, marrow, platelets, and blood. Many nonprofit health organizations sponsor blood and marrow drives and organ/tissue sign-ups across the nation. National Donor Day was started in 1998 by the Saturn Corporation and its United Auto Workers partners with the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and many nonprofit health organizations.

April: National Donate Life Month
Organ procurement organizations, transplant centers, national donation organizations and other organizations sponsor special awareness events and donor recognition ceremonies to promote donation awareness and registration. National Donate Life Month was established in 2003. Every day in April, people across the U.S. make a special effort to celebrate the tremendous generosity of those who have saved lives by becoming organ, tissue, marrow, and blood donors and to encourage more Americans to follow their fine example.

July: National Donor Recognition Ceremony & Workshop
Donors and their families from across the country are honored in the Nation's Capital by the Federal government and the transplant community for giving the Gift of Life. Includes Saturday workshops and a donor recognition ceremony on Sunday.

July: U.S. Transplant Games (even-numbered years)
At the games, organized and presented by the National Kidney Foundation and its many Affiliates/Divisions, transplant recipients compete in Olympic-style athletic events and celebrate the life-enabling gifts of organ and tissue donors. Medals are awarded to winning transplant recipient athletes. Living donors and donor family members receive medals of a different kind at separate recognition ceremonies. The Transplant Games illustrate the ability of transplantation to extend and enhance life.

August: National Minority Donor Awareness Week
Heightened minority-focused outreach activities bring accurate donation messages to minority communities, encouraging donor registration and promoting healthy living and disease prevention to decrease the need for transplantation. Observances have included prayer breakfasts, health walks, and donor drives.

November: National Marrow Awareness Month
A special nationwide effort to recruit volunteer marrow, blood stem cell, and umbilical cord blood donors and to increase patient awareness of the option of unrelated transplantation.

November: National Donor Sabbath
On Friday through Sunday, two weekends before Thanksgiving, faith communities across the Nation focus on the critical need for organs, tissues, marrow, and blood, and their life-enhancing capabilities. Faith leaders and donation professionals lead discussions of issues concerning donation, and faith communities sponsor donation awareness activities, donor registrations, and speakers during this 3-day celebration of life.

Solid Organ Transplant Family Picnic

Each April, the Solid Organ Transplant Programs host an afternoon picnic for transplant recipients and their families.

Red Balloon Run & Ride Camp SOAR Team

Last year's Red Balloon Run & Ride was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who participated.

We look forward to the next race, and, as always, will have the Solid Organ Transplant Camp SOAR team there!

More on the Red Balloon Run & Ride

Transplant: Camp Soar (Some Organ Assembly Required)

Camp SOAR is a weekend retreat held at Camp John Marc in Meridian, Texas, traditionally on the last weekend in March. Campers include teenagers (13-18 years old) who have had a solid organ transplant (heart, kidney, and/or liver). Staff members from Children's Health attend the camp including a physician, a child life specialist, nurses and other trained volunteers. Indoor and outdoor activities are offered including a ropes course, arts and crafts, sports and games. Camp SOAR is funded completely by grants and donations and offered to campers free of charge.

Since 1993, Camp SOAR has provided teens an opportunity to develop supportive relationships with other teens, discuss relevant adolescent issues and strengthen their relationship with their medical teams. For more information, call the Solid Organ Transplant Program child life specialist at 214-456-8600.

All camper applications must be approved by the transplant nurse coordinator and primary transplant physician prior to participation. Participation in Camp SOAR does not disqualify campers from participating in other camp opportunities such as Camp Reynal or Camp Moss.