Gift-of-Life's Team-Philly Once Again Largest Traveling Squad At Transplant Games
CLEVELAND, OH. (CBS) -- The Transplant Games of America officially kicked off Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. Gift-of-Life's Team-Philly is once again the largest traveling team at the games.
The transplant games are held every two years at different cities around the country. It's an Olympic style competition for organ and tissue recipients and living donors.
Cheering the competitors on, donor families, like Vivian and Tom Gano from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Their 16-year-old son Curtis was killed riding his bike in 1987. His parents donated his heart, both kidneys, pancreas, skin and cornea.
"Four lives were saved and half a dozen others were enhanced," Tom said.
Vivian says seeing the recipients compete.
"It's all worth it," she said. "They are living a normal life and can do things they couldn't do before. And I feel good that my son saved lives."
When Liz Casperite's kidneys were shutting down because of Polycystic Kidney Disease, and after 10-people had been ruled out as potential donors, she put a post on Facebook.
"A friend of mine reposted it," Casperite said, "and one of her friends, a woman named Maria saw it."
Maria Weaver-Hollowniczky, who had never met Liz.
"I think I kept scrolling," she said, "and then I went back (and I said), 'You know, it's probably not likely, but wouldn't that be kind of cool if this random thing happened.'"
After months of testing, the donation was completed in September. Liz got a new kidney -- and they both got a new best friend.
Competition starts with swimming, bowling, ballroom dancing, and 5K and 10K runs, then opening ceremonies on Saturday evening.
KYW's Newsradio's Jim Melwert is competing in the games as a living kidney donor.
