Fair Lawn Woman Who Received Lifesaving Liver Transplant Joins Team Liberty at Transplant Games of America

Liver transplant recipient and Fair Lawn resident, Bonnie Farbstein, will join more than 20 others from New Jersey at this year’s Transplant Games of America, which celebrate the life-saving value of organ and tissue donation.

The 2014 Transplant Games of America will be in Houston July 11-15.

After four years on the transplant waiting list and a significant decline in health, Bonnie finally received the gift of life on May 4, 2007.

During a volunteer workshop, held by the NJ Sharing Network, the non-profit organization responsible for recovering organs and tissue in Central and Northern New Jersey, Bonnie learned about the Transplant Games of America and became extremely interested. Since her transplant surgery she has participated in the games. Bonnie competes in table tennis, tennis singles and tennis doubles. She won three gold medals her first time attending the Transplant Games of America.

The Transplant Games of America is a multi-sport festival event that highlights the critical importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. Transplant recipients, living donors and donor families come together to honor those who gave the gift of life; and to celebrate those who received a second chance at life.

“Gathered under one roof are thousands of people from across the country that have in some way been touched by organ donation and transplantation. It’s an emotional and exhilarating experience,” says Bonnie.

Bonnie and the rest of Team Liberty will head to Houston this week for this year’s Transplant Games of America.

Team Liberty, a program of NJ Sharing Network, comes together at the Transplant Games of America, and year round, to promote the success of organ transplantation, and to raise awareness for the urgent need of organ and tissue donation. Nearly 5,000 people in New Jersey are waiting for life-saving organs.

Team Liberty honors the legacy and generosity of donors and their families. They come from New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Northern and Central New Jersey, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. The men, women, and children of Team Liberty embody incredible spirit, courage, energy, inspiration, humor, sportsmanship, and friendship.

To learn more, get involved and register as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.NJSharingNetwork.org or call NJ Sharing Network at 1-800-742-7365.

About NJ Sharing Network

NJ Sharing Network is a non-profit, federally designated organization responsible for the recovery and placement of donated organs and tissue for New Jersey residents in need of life-saving transplants. NJ Sharing Network partners with Donate Life America, a not-for-profit national alliance that drives communities to increase their numbers of registered donors. NJ Sharing Network honors those who gave, pays tribute to those who received, offers hope to those who continue to wait, and remembers the lives lost while waiting...for the gift of life.