chrisklugfoundation.org

Biliary atresia is a rare liver disease where bile gets trapped inside the liver and causes severe scarring of the liver cells. Ultimately, the liver fails and the only cure is a liver transplant. I couldn’t bring myself to talk about my liver disease because my liver disease has never defined me. I know that living to 21 years old with biliary atresia pre-transplant is a miracle in itself and I never went a day without being thankful for the life I had.

The Chris Klug Foundation Now Accepting Nominations for Bounce Back, Give Back Awards to Recognize Extraordinary Transplant Recipients Nominations now being accepted for the award, which will be presented in December at a special event in Aspen, Colorado Aspen, CO., April 1, 2019 – The Chris Klug Foundation (CKF) is pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the sixth annual Bounce Back, Give Back Award, presented by Astellas Pharma US, Inc. The award recognizes two transplant recipients who exhibit a great quality of life post-transplant, whether it is a career accomplishment, participation in a sport or hobby, or simply leading a fulfilling life with family and loved ones. …Click here for the full press release…

The actual conference started on Monday, February 25th, with teachers and future educators coming from all across the state to listen to esteemed speakers, take yoga and fitness classes, and learn the latest in health and physical education. Over the course of the conference, from Monday through Wednesday, I talked to countless numbers of teachers, introducing them to our Toolkit as well as our Donor Dudes programs, which are available for their students to host at their own schools. The NJ Sharing Network, or simply, NJ Sharing, is another nonprofit organization that promotes organ donation. By working with hospitals and transplant centers across the state of New Jersey, NJ Sharing helps to identify potential organ and tissue donors and connects them with compatible recipients.

To achieve this, BBYO puts on an International Convention (IC) each year where Jewish high school-aged students from all over the world come together to celebrate their religious heritage in the largest gathering of Jewish teens worldwide. BBYO reserves the day before the convention (in this case, Wednesday) as an early check-in day for those IC attendees who want some extra time to get settled and rest up before the convention’s kick-off on the following day. I arrived at the Colorado Convention Center in Downtown Denver with plenty of time to set up our very own informational booth, complete with swag giveaways and informational brochures to provide newcomers with the organ donation facts. Compared to CKF’s other events, BBYO IC 2019 was the largest gathering of high school-aged teens—all of the attendees were so close to the age at which you get your driver’s license and legally register as an organ donor in the U. S. —so it proved to be quite a meaningful opportunity to speak with them about organ donation, clear up the myths, and share the facts.