Transplant Patient Summit – Now Transplant Community Summit

The AST is pleased to announce that we will be partnering with the Transplant Games of America (TGA) and bringing the 2018 Transplant Community Summit to over 6,000 TGA attendees. In this exciting partnership, we will be bringing AST professional expertise to the Games while putting AST's Power2Save on the map as a community resource.

We will be presenting the following topics to attendees over a span of three days of the Games:

1. One Transplant for Life - The Latest in Transplant Research: What are we doing research for and why? Key research target areas, where they are and where they're going.
2. Fight for your Right - Transplant Advocacy 101: Hear an overview of important transplant-related issues currently facing our government, and get trained on how to be an effective advocate.
3. Healthy Living with a Transplant: We'll discuss topics for eating and drinking, having pets, traveling, sports, gardening, routine health maintenance, and more!
4. Preserving your Sanity: Tips and tricks for recipients, caregivers, and donors.
5. Financial Concerns when Living with a Transplant or Considering Donation: Healthcare costs, combined with time away from work, can become a major financial challenge. These planning tips, as well as information about transplant assistance programs, will help you ensure your affairs are in order.

Learn more about the Transplant Games of America here: http://www.transplantgamesofamerica.org/

2017 Summit Outcomes and Highlights

As a result of feedback we received during the initial Transplant Summit 2017, we have been working on strategies, both long and short term, to engage the transplant community. Since then, we have implemented a Transplant Community

Advisory Council (TCAC), consisting of transplant recipients, a candidate, living donors, and caregivers. The TCAC will serve as guidance to the board, providing the imperative insight of the community perspective and offer suggestions on important matters including advocacy and community engagement efforts.  Additionally, we have invited community members to serve on the task force that serves as the driving force of Transplant Community Summit event planning and future community engagement programming.

• View the talk shared by the Washington State Congressional Representative, the Honorable, Jaime Herrera Beutler: https://youtu.be/runqcWkCrY8?t=2h9m39s
• View the heartfelt closing speech from AST President, Dr. Ronald Gill: https://youtu.be/runqcWkCrY8?t=6h47m23s
• View the 2017 Transplant Patient Summit archives

What can we do now?

Get out there and advocate! We've put together some information below to help you get started. Be sure to tune back regularly to check-out updates.

• Check out our Advocacy 101 documents
• Learn about what AST has been up to on Capitol Hill with our Washington Round-up
• Learn about AST position statements on current legislation
• Contact your representatives

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Questions?

If you have any questions, ideas, or would like to see additional information posted, please contact AST's Community Engagement Program Manager, Mrs. Rae Massi, by email (rmassi@myAST.org) or by phone (856-642-4404).