Move For Life Foundation - The Great Lake Swim
Donation protected
Move for Life Mission
The Move for Life Foundation is dedicated to reducing the wait list of organ transplant. In addition, the team looks to inspire organ transplant recipients to live an active and healthy lifestyle.
The Foundation
Every year a transplant recipient or a group of transplant recipients and living donors will participate in a sporting challenge to demonstrate organ transplantation can restore quality of life and longevity. They will show that transplant works!
We will use these events to promote organ donation and to reduce the wait list for an organ transplant. In 2021, the Foundation will support the Liver transplant unit at London Health Sciences Center by raising funds to purchase equipment that will allow to use more organs for transplantation, thus, reducing wait times to access organs, reducing wait list mortality and being able to increase the donor pool. It is estimated 50 additional organs could be salvaged on a yearly basis using this machinery and we hope to raise $250,000 through donors and event sponsors for the goal. This year, our first sport challenge is to swim 52km across Lake Ontario in August 2021!
The Great Lake Swim - Jillian Best
Jillian has a disease called hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT - malformed blood vessels in organs of the body). Long story short, this disease affected her liver function and it required her to need a transplant by the age of 29 (2016). Her mom, Bonnie has had 2 successful liver transplants as well.
When Jill was a teenager, her mom had her first liver transplant. She then realized she might also carry the gene that was responsible for her mother‘s illness.
Years later in Jill's early 20's she became very ill, and she required innumerable admissions to the hospital. She had seizures, extreme weight loss, and complete muscle atrophy. In short, she had lost her independence.
Jill waited years for her chance to have a life saving liver transplant surgery. Jill's mom was ill once again at the same time.
Miraculously Jill and her mother received liver transplants only 2 weeks apart.
It is obvious that organ donation has saved her life, and her mother's as well. This has given Jill the motivation and desire to give back to the transplant community.
These were the most trying times of her life. However, looking back at that time she realizes it was her greatest teacher.
Without the struggle, she doesn’t believe she would honour the time that she has here now quite the same. She is grateful for all she has learned about herself, and what we can overcome; how our thoughts can help or hinder us.
After her transplant she wanted to get healthy and strong, so she began setting goals. This helped her move forward and to leave her life as a sick person in the past. She wants to make a difference to those who are where she was and shorten the waitlist for an organ transplant. Jill and her team at Move for Life aim to inspire others to realize the importance of our health, and to embrace this life we have!
The Equipment (ARP):
The funds raised during this event will be used to allow London Health Science Center to purchase and operate equipment that will be used to perform Abdominal Regional Perfusion (ARP) of abdominal organs available from DCD (Donation after Cardiac Death) donors. The ARP model will keep the organ in-situ with re-oxygenated blood, and allow for functional evaluation of organ viability prior to graft use. This method has been studied by Move For Life Foundation committe member Dr. Mayur Brahmania, and his assocaite Dr. Ephraim Tang at LHSC, and their study concluded that the ARP method has potential to increase the donor pool and reduce the waitlist for those in need of organ transplant. This technology is already used in Europe (Spain) and in the USA, and is saving lives. The fundraising objective is to raise $250,000 to cover for the acquisition cost of the ARP equipment, and the and annual maintenance and operational costs for the first 3 years.
The Move for Life Foundation is dedicated to reducing the wait list of organ transplant. In addition, the team looks to inspire organ transplant recipients to live an active and healthy lifestyle.
The Foundation
Every year a transplant recipient or a group of transplant recipients and living donors will participate in a sporting challenge to demonstrate organ transplantation can restore quality of life and longevity. They will show that transplant works!
We will use these events to promote organ donation and to reduce the wait list for an organ transplant. In 2021, the Foundation will support the Liver transplant unit at London Health Sciences Center by raising funds to purchase equipment that will allow to use more organs for transplantation, thus, reducing wait times to access organs, reducing wait list mortality and being able to increase the donor pool. It is estimated 50 additional organs could be salvaged on a yearly basis using this machinery and we hope to raise $250,000 through donors and event sponsors for the goal. This year, our first sport challenge is to swim 52km across Lake Ontario in August 2021!
Jillian has a disease called hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT - malformed blood vessels in organs of the body). Long story short, this disease affected her liver function and it required her to need a transplant by the age of 29 (2016). Her mom, Bonnie has had 2 successful liver transplants as well.
When Jill was a teenager, her mom had her first liver transplant. She then realized she might also carry the gene that was responsible for her mother‘s illness.
Years later in Jill's early 20's she became very ill, and she required innumerable admissions to the hospital. She had seizures, extreme weight loss, and complete muscle atrophy. In short, she had lost her independence.
Jill waited years for her chance to have a life saving liver transplant surgery. Jill's mom was ill once again at the same time.
Miraculously Jill and her mother received liver transplants only 2 weeks apart.
It is obvious that organ donation has saved her life, and her mother's as well. This has given Jill the motivation and desire to give back to the transplant community.
These were the most trying times of her life. However, looking back at that time she realizes it was her greatest teacher.
Without the struggle, she doesn’t believe she would honour the time that she has here now quite the same. She is grateful for all she has learned about herself, and what we can overcome; how our thoughts can help or hinder us.
After her transplant she wanted to get healthy and strong, so she began setting goals. This helped her move forward and to leave her life as a sick person in the past. She wants to make a difference to those who are where she was and shorten the waitlist for an organ transplant. Jill and her team at Move for Life aim to inspire others to realize the importance of our health, and to embrace this life we have!
The Equipment (ARP):
The funds raised during this event will be used to allow London Health Science Center to purchase and operate equipment that will be used to perform Abdominal Regional Perfusion (ARP) of abdominal organs available from DCD (Donation after Cardiac Death) donors. The ARP model will keep the organ in-situ with re-oxygenated blood, and allow for functional evaluation of organ viability prior to graft use. This method has been studied by Move For Life Foundation committe member Dr. Mayur Brahmania, and his assocaite Dr. Ephraim Tang at LHSC, and their study concluded that the ARP method has potential to increase the donor pool and reduce the waitlist for those in need of organ transplant. This technology is already used in Europe (Spain) and in the USA, and is saving lives. The fundraising objective is to raise $250,000 to cover for the acquisition cost of the ARP equipment, and the and annual maintenance and operational costs for the first 3 years.
Fundraising team (3)
Brad Tilson
Organizer
Raised $100 from 2 donations
London, ON
Jillian Best
Team member
Raised $13,537 from 80 donations
Sylvie Charbonneau
Team member
Raised $1,185 from 3 donations
