Double Transplant Recipient from Nutley Competes with Team Liberty At Transplant Games of America in Houston

Double transplant recipient and Nutley resident, Mike DiPiano, will join more than 20 others from New Jersey at this year’s Transplant Games of America, which celebrate the life-saving value of organ and tissue donation.

The 2014 Transplant Games will be in Houston July 11-15.

Sixteen years ago, Mike underwent double transplant surgery. He not only received a kidney, he also received a pancreas due to his lifelong battle with diabetes. Since then, Mike has dedicated himself to spreading awareness about the gift of organ donation. 

The Transplant Games of America is a multi-sport festival event that highlights the critical importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. Organ recipients, living donors and donor families come together to honor those who gave the gift of life; and to celebrate those who received a second chance at life.

As a part of Team Liberty, Mike participates in the shot put, discus and swimming events. He has taken home medals consistently in his six years of participation. The 62 year-old also won two medals in the World Transplant Games in Australia and Thailand.

“It’s a pretty amazing, emotional week. Just to be with hundreds of other people who have been through the exact same thing as you is just incredible,” Mike explains.

Team Liberty, a program of NJ Sharing Network, the non-profit organization responsible for recovering organs and tissue  in Central and Northern New Jersey, comes together at the Transplant Games of America, and year round, to promote the success of organ transplantation, to raise awareness for the urgent need of organ and tissue donation. Nearly 5,000 people in New Jersey are waiting for life-saving organs.

Team Liberty honors the legacy and generosity of donors and their families. They come from New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Northern and Central New Jersey, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. The men, women, and children of Team Liberty embody incredible spirit, courage, energy, inspiration, humor, sportsmanship, and friendship.

To learn more, get involved and register as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.NJSharingNetwork.org or call NJ Sharing Network at 1-800-742-7365.

About NJ Sharing Network

NJ Sharing Network is a non-profit, federally designated organization responsible for the recovery and placement of donated organs and tissue for New Jersey residents in need of life-saving transplants. NJ Sharing Network partners with Donate Life America, a not-for-profit national alliance that drives communities to increase their numbers of registered donors. NJ Sharing Network honors those who gave, pays tribute to those who received, offers hope to those who continue to wait, and remembers the lives lost while waiting...for the gift of life.