Who is Team CT?
Team CT is a group of transplant recipients, donor families, living donors, caregivers, family, friends and professionals who are all connected to organ, eye and tissue donation. Transplant Team of CT has two main programs, the Awareness Program and the Showcase Program.
Through our Awareness Program, we participate in various events throughout the year, inspiring and empowering those to spread the word about giving the gift of life. One of the greatest gifts a donor family can receive is to see recipients living a full and healthy life. Recipients honor their donors, donor families, or living donors by promoting the success of transplantation through health and fitness.
Our Showcase Program allows us to represent Connecticut at the Transplant Games of America held every two years somewhere in the US. We gather with over 5,000 other people from every state in the country to showcase how well donation and transplantation works. It’s about being part of a wonderful, close-knit group of people who truly understand the meaning of Donate Life; who are there to support each other in times of sadness and times of celebration. Our donor families and living donors are very special to us. Without their decision to save another’s life, none of this would be possible.
What are the Transplant Games?
The Transplant Games is a multi-sport festival event to help promote the need for organ & tissue donation. The purpose is to show the world that transplantation is a treatment that does indeed work! The games started as a way to get the word out about the important need for organ and tissue donation and that is our goal today. Over the years it has grown into an event that brings transplant and donor Families together. As a Donor Family you may not meet the person that has your loved one’s organ, but you will certainly see how your donation has changed someone else’s life. As a Transplant Recipient you get to show the world that having a transplant is a second chance at life.
The Transplant Team of CT will attend the 2026 Transplant Games in Denver, CO, in June 2026.
To participate as an athlete, you must meet the following requirements:
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Have received a life-altering transplant (regardless of whether you are taking anti-rejection meds or not)
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The transplant has occurred at least 9 months before the start of the games
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You are in healthy condition
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Your doctor has signed a medical waiver allowing you to participate
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You have signed a form stating that you meet all the above requirements
The Games are more than an athletic competition. They are the coming together of thousands of individuals who all share one thing in common–their lives have been touched by organ, eye, or tissue donation. This is an opportunity for donor families to meet other donor families and transplant recipients to meet other recipients. It offers an opportunity to share life stories. The Games celebrate the legacy of both living and deceased donors. They also serve as testimony to the gift of life, both for those who have given and those who have received.