#BeTheGift Connections

#BeTheGift Connections is coming to you LIVE from the 2024 Transplant Games in Birmingham to share stories from members of Team Tennessee and other competing athletes! We had the opportunity to speak with Jon Roberts, a liver recipient competing on Team Philadelphia who was the overall winner for the Transplant Games 5K!

#BeTheGift Connections is coming to you LIVE from the 2024 Transplant Games in Birmingham to share stories from members of Team Tennessee and other competing athletes! Our next guest is JP Marzano, a two-time kidney recipient who is competing in his seventh Transplant Games!

#BeTheGift Connections is coming to you LIVE from the 2024 Transplant Games in Birmingham to share stories from members of Team Tennessee and other competing athletes! Our first guest is Tyrone Cooper, a heart recipient who is competing on Team Louisiana.

#BeTheGift Connections is coming to you LIVE from the 2024 Transplant Games in Birmingham to share stories from members of Team Tennessee and other competing athletes! Our next guest is Mimi Smith, a liver recipient competing on Team Tennessee!

We're counting down the days to the 2024 Transplant Games with some of our Team Tennessee athletes on #BeTheGift Connections! Our third segment features Jay Jones, a heart recipient and one of our new members of Team Tennessee.

We're counting down the days to the 2024 Transplant Games with some of our Team Tennessee athletes on #BeTheGift Connections! Our second segment of the month features Travis Fuller, a two-time kidney recipient who is ready to bring his competitive spirit to Birmingham!

We're counting down the days to the 2024 Transplant Games on #BeTheGift Connections with some of our Team Tennessee athletes! Our first segment of the month features Jim Jones, a liver recipient who is using his second chance to pay it forward to other patients waiting for lifesaving transplants.

It's time for our second #BeTheGift Connections segment in honor of National Nurses Week! We're joined by Tennessee Donor Services Clinical Services Manager Brittany Cameron who gives us an inside look into the donation process and the role of an Organ Recovery Coordinator.

In honor of National Nurses Week, we have a special #BeTheGift Connections segment to celebrate the dedicated nurses and clinical professionals who make donation possible! We'll hear from Suzy Sawyer, a liver recipient and transplant nurse at UT Medical Center, who will share how her transplant impacted her decision to help other patients waiting for their lifesaving gifts.

It's not Donate Life Month without an episode of #BeTheGift Connections! Kassandra Klemenz, a double-lung transplant recipient who recently completed the Knoxville Marathon, will share how her transplant has given her the ability to live an active life and what athletic events she has coming up.

Join us for the next episode of #BeTheGift Connections in honor of National Kidney Month! We'll hear from Gene Proctor, a kidney transplant recipient, and his wife, Shanna, as they share how the search for a kidney donor impacted their lives.

American Heart Month is coming to a close, but we have one episode of #BeTheGift Connections left before we head into March! We'll hear from Billy Lane, who received a lifesaving heart transplant thanks to the selflessness of a donor hero.

In honor of Black History Month, we have a special episode of #BeTheGift Connections! We'll hear from Dr. Clive Callender, founder of the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), as he takes us through his career and explains MOTTEP's mission to influence multicultural donor registrations and equitable transplant allocation.

Celebrate the upcoming #BeTheGift Showdown with a new episode of #BeTheGift Connections! We'll hear from Tom Satkowiak, a liver transplant recipient, as he shares how his lifesaving transplant impacted his life and career. We'll also hear from UT Men's Basketball Head Coach Rick Barnes about the upcoming #BeTheGift Showdown on February 17!

Celebrate #AmericanHeartMonth with a new episode of #BeTheGift Connections! We'll hear from Brian Montalbano, a two-time heart transplant recipient who received his first transplant at 9 years old and his second transplant in 2011.

Grief is one of the deepest pains we will ever experience. On this episode of #BeTheGift Connections, we’ll talk with donor family members about their journey through grief. 00:00 We’ll hear from Dr. Jason and Darla Brooks, who lost their daughter, Aleya, unexpectedly last year. They’ll share how they are using their experience to help others. 26:40 In our second segment, we’ll talk with Lisa Boul...

The holidays can be a time for reflection, celebration and anticipation. On this episode of #BeTheGift Connections, we have three inspiring stories about the precious gift of life. We’ll hear from Suha Dabit, whose daughter, Nadia, was born with a congenital heart defect. Their journey led to a heart transplant and the creation of a foundation to help other families. Our second story features Jaco...

November is #EyeDonationMonth! On this episode of #BeTheGift Connections, we’ll learn about the many ways eye tissue can be used to improve lives. Our guests include Shelly Cleek, a cornea recipient and Donate Life Ambassador, along with her surgeon Dr. Bernard Chang. We’ll also learn how eye tissue is processed and distributed at the Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank in Nashville from Dr. Erich Groo...

Join us for October's #BeTheGift Connections: "Donation 101: Brain Death" as we discuss what brain death is and the criteria used to declare it. We'll hear from Critical Care Dr. Nadia Froehling with Erlanger Health Systems and TDS In-House Donation Specialist Amy Layne explain brain death, the testing involved, and the separate roles of the hospital and Tennessee Donor Services....

Join us for this episode of “BeTheGift Connections” as we recognize our Tennessee Driver Services Centers for the work they do to help save lives. We’ll talk with staff about their commitment to registering more Tennesseans. Ashley Beaumia, donor mother, will share the story of her son Blazer who registered to be a donor when he obtained his learner’s permit. We'll also learn about a special c...

In recognition of August as #NationalMulticulturalDonorAwarenessMonth , #BeTheGift Connections will be exploring healthcare inequities that exist within communities of color and how this impacts attitudes toward organ and tissue donation. We’ll be talking with two physicians about the challenges and disparities facing the Black community when it comes to healthcare. We’ll also learn about an excit...

Join Sierra Donor Services for a special edition of #BeTheGift Connections that focuses on supporting burn survivors. We'll hear from the Firefighters Burn Institute, a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization that works to serve burn survivors, from hosting youth camps and social outings to awarding scholarships. We'll also speak with Chris Donhost, Organ Recovery Liaison for SDS, as he de...

Join us for May's #BeTheGift  Connections: “Going the Extra Mile” as we talk with some competitive athletes. Their accomplishments in sports are impressive, but what makes their stories even more compelling is they are organ recipients. We’ll hear how sports helped them overcome adversity. They are proof that a lifesaving organ transplant means a chance to live a healthy, active life doing the...

Join us for the next  #BeTheGift  Connections. In recognition of  #NationalDonateLifeMonth , we’re talking about giving and living. We’ll hear the perspective of a donor mother. Danyelle Stone will share the legacy her four year-old son, Grayson Meadows, left by saving the lives of others through organ donation. We’ll also talk with Dr. Derek Moore, transplant surgeon with Ascension Saint Thomas W...

March is National Kidney Month and a perfect time to talk about the need for kidney transplants! Billy Jarvis is a kidney recipient and an External Affairs Coordinator at Tennessee Donor Services. Billy is currently in need of a new kidney and was accepted into the Living Donor Paired Exchange Program in January. He and his living donor, Steven Jamison, will share their journey so far and what wil...