- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

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- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The jobs of tomorrow are not the jobs of yesterday.

- Look at this.

You get this?

- Life without dance is boring.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I did do the finale, and guess where my trailer was?

A block away from my apartment, it couldn'’t have been better!

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Steve Adubato.

For the next half hour, you're about to see a very interesting, compelling, and hopefully inspiring special.

(hand thudding) The 2020, that's right, 2020 Transplant Games was supposed to be played out in 2020, but happened to be in the summer of 2021 over at American Dream.

The Transplant Games, thousands of people from across the country, living donors, people who have received organs from others who have lost their lives, the families of people who lost their lives but gave the gift of life to others, together with the New Jersey Sharing Network.

They're the folks who drove this on the New Jersey site, to get the Transplant Games to come to New Jersey.

Thousands of people over at American Dream, people who are giving the gift of life, people who have received the gift of life.

Right now, there are 4,000 people in New Jersey waiting for an organ, 110,000 people across the nation waiting for the gift of life, an organ, to go on, to live life the way you and I are, so that's why I wear this wristband right here, New Jersey Sharing Network, the 2020 Reimagined Transplant Games.

(upbeat music) You hear the music behind me.

This is, in fact, the 2020 Transplant Games, right here at American Dream, the Reimagined Games.

We're here with our good friend, Paul Jova, who joined us last time remotely.

(sighs) Paul, let people know why you're here and the legacy of your son Andrew and why that's so important.

- Well, I'm here today to celebrate the life of my son, Andrew Jova.

We were at the last Games, and the impact that it made on my family and myself was immense.

The outpouring of love and care that we got from people, total strangers, was so impactful that we decided that we'll never miss another game, and we're so glad to be here in New Jersey, our home state, to have this Games and to have the opportunity to meet more people and to see the recipients and feel that love that they have for us and see how their lives have been impacted by organ transplant.

- You know, as you listen to Paul, last time we got to talk to Paul, we were remote, and he was just saying how great it is to be together.

You see behind us the donor remembrance quilt.

Andrew's not here, but it just represents thousands and thousands of donors who gave the gift of life.

Andrew's quilt, if you will, the legacy- 'Cause I asked you this remotely, but remind people, who was he, and why was he such a great young man?

- Well, Andrew was a 17-year-old young man, waiting to get his driver's license, and he made a silly little choice that impacted the lives of my family forever.

His quilt, we've seen it numerous times.

It's traveled around the world now, and it's really just to keep his name alive.

All these quilts, all these people have sacrificed the ultimate gift for someone they didn't know, and how it's impacted lives.

Andrew, a great kid, a caring kid, a loving kid, and I know if he had the choice, he would've made that choice at the worst time in anybody's life.

- I am going to sing the national anthem, and I am, you can see on my face, I'm, like, losing it.

Yeah, yeah.

- Because, what's it like for you, 14 and a half years later, you're gonna sing the national anthem at the Reimagined Transplant Games.

What's it gonna be like, you think?

- It was something I could not ever imagine when I did it for the New Jersey Sharing Network's 5Ks, and I just think that this is just gonna be something over-the-top 'cause my donor, (jewelry clattering) it's my donor singing.

♪ Oh, say does ♪ ♪ That star-spangled ♪ ♪ Banner yet wave ♪ ♪ O'er the land ♪ ♪ Of the free ♪ ♪ And the home of the ♪ ♪ Brave ♪ - Bill, you've been with us so many times, talk about why you're particularly excited about today and this entire event.

- Well, part of me feels like I'm home, and I don't live here.

I live in Michigan, but you know, we've been here now for almost four years, planning these 2020 Games, and of course, COVID got in the way of that, but we overcame that, and we're here today in probably one of the most magnificent settings that we could possibly be in to demonstrate the power of organ donation and transplantation.

- Let people know, I mean, you hear the Transplant Games.

It's a big deal that New Jersey got this, that the New Jersey Sharing Network won, if you will.

I don't know if it's a bid.

I don't know.

By the way, explain to folks what is the bidding process without going into the weeds, if you will, and also, what are the Transplant Games, for those that don't know?

- Well, the bidding process is there's cities across the country that want us to come, and just like any other major event, they present their case.

They pitch for it, and then we award it based on a variety of factors.

We came here because we think this is the biggest population center in the country with a message for minority communities across the lake, the river.

It's a river, right?

- Yeah, right across the Hudson River, right?

- River, and you know, we bring people together for a message that's unheard of.

You know, we think we're gonna be in front of 100,000 people this week.

We ordered it because we thought this was the place to be And it is the place to be.

- Tell people, Bill, why you're personally so connected to this movement, this mission.

- Well, I've lost two daughters in my life, and one was an organ donor.

The other one couldn't be because of her condition, but it was something that was near and dear to her heart, and you know, we inherited that from her.

That was a gift from her to us, you know, to give us the willingness and the love to be a part of this organization.

- Stuart, why are you so excited about these Transplant Games?

- So first, Steve, thanks for having me.

It's always a pleasure to be with you.

Really excited about the Transplant Games and the opportunity to really promote the mission of transplantation and the message of the need for organ donation to the general community.

We have built over the course of many years one of the largest kidney transplant programs in the United States.

When the pandemic really exploded in the New York metropolitan area back in the spring of 2020, we had to stop doing transplants for a few months just because it was not safe to bring our transplant patients into the hospital and certainly our healthy living donors at that time, but since that time, we've resumed full activity, but it's very important that our transplant patients be absolutely vigilant about mask-wearing and social distancing.

- Rosemarie, tell everyone why you're here and why this is so personal for you.

- Sure.

In 2003, I donated my kidney to my mom.

So it's been important to me since then.

I've been at the 2004 Games.

I've been to 2018 Games.

I'm a little disappointed about last year, but looking forward to the future and really being an advocate for living donors.

- Now, we took a shot of your shoes.

I'm looking down at them right now.

Tell everyone what the message is there.

- Just to show that I am a living donor, to make awareness that you can have a quote, unquote, normal life as a living donor, that you can make a difference in someone else's life, and that organ donation's very important.

We don't realize it until someone comes into our life that really needs an organ, and we see the necessity for it, and being part of Team Liberty and having the opportunity to meet all these people who have these unbelievable stories just makes me proud to be part of the team.

- By the way, tell everyone, Team, we're saying Team Liberty like everybody knows what Team Liberty is.

Tell everyone what Team Liberty is all about.

- Well, Team Liberty is a group of people who have some connection to organ and tissue donation.

It encompasses living donors, recipients, donor families, supporters, medical professionals, and it's all just to really advocate for the importance of organ donation.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you very much.

- All right, Elisse Glennon, how many years, for how long, have you and the team at the Sharing Network, you and Joe Roth, we'll be talking to in a second, thinking and planning for these Games?

- It has been five years since we started talking about this back in Cleveland, when the Transplant Games were there, so we started the idea there, and then we gathered our partners in 2017, a year later, and we all came together, and here we are, finally, after the postponement from the pandemic, at the Reimagined Transplant Games.

- (sighs) Tell folks who may not understand what these Games are and why they're so important, why they are so important.

- You know, there's 4,000 people waiting for a transplant here in New Jersey and 114,000 nationwide, so we really wanted to bring the Transplant Games here to New Jersey to shed the light on that, make some bigger noise about that, get people talking about organ donation and thinking about whether or not they wanna become an organ donor.

- So as the Sharing Network information is right on the screen as I'm talking right now, the website, I always ask you this every time you join us.

People go on the website.

Other than finding out what the Sharing Network is doing, how can they access it so that they can find out more about quote, unquote, "the gift of life"?

- They can go to our website at NJSharingNetwork.org, and we'd like them to register.

That's what we want people to do, register to be an organ donor.

They can do that right on our website.

It takes less than a minute, or they can go to the health app on their iPhone and register there, and what they're doing when they register is they are providing hope, hope to the people that are waiting, and they also are honoring all of those people who have died and have given the gift of life before them.

Our Quilts of Love program is probably one of the most special things that we do.

Each quilt square was lovingly crafted by a family member, and you can see how personal and unique each one is, representing that person's life, so we have a chance to celebrate all that they did, right up until the greatest thing that they did, right in their final hour, which was to save someone else's life.

We have 35 of these quilts hanging throughout our building, at our headquarters.

- Just at the Sharing Network.

- Just at the Sharing Network, and there's a quilt program across the country, but when someone, when we have a donor family who loses someone, we do offer them the opportunity to make a quilt, quilt square, rather, and then we have volunteers who put these quilt squares together, and today here, at the Transplant Games, we have about 15 or 16 or so of our quilts on display for the public to see because we wanna, one of the promises we make to donor families is that we will continue their loved one's legacy alongside with them, and we will never forget them.

- One more quick question: these Transplant Games, we're calling them the 2020 Transplant Games, right?

We're here in July in 2021, the Reimagined Games, if you will.

It's so interesting.

There will be people who will sign up.

There will be people who will get engaged and involved just because they're physically here at American Dream.

- Yeah, we sure hope so.

The Transplant Games is typically held in a convention center, and here, we have this amazing opportunity.

You know, I came here earlier this week.

We were doing some setup, and we walked into the building, and all of the digital boards throughout the property said the Transplant Games, said messaging about organ and tissue donation and the power of that gift.

- What did that feel like?

- It was amazing.

I'm getting the chills telling you about it, which means our message has been up all week, and it continues through the weekend.

In Court A, we have a stage there with programming, all kinds of programming for kids and adults, and people are coming out who, like you said, have maybe never really thought about organ donation, so people are coming together, and then we're able to share that message with them.

We're excited about it.

- [Steve] It's a big deal.

- It's a huge deal, Steve.

(Steve laughing) It's a huge deal, especially after all of these years, and the fact that our partners, including you, have stuck with us through the cancellation, the reschedule, the postponement and planning and replanning.

Everybody, everybody stuck with us.

- Takes more than a village.

- (laughing) It sure does, yes.

- Congratulations to you and the team.

- Thank you so much for being here with us.

- Let everyone know, Matt, how you're connected to Team Liberty.

- So I had a liver transplant about nine years ago, and shortly thereafter, I was introduced to Team Liberty, and I've been a member, an active member ever since.

- [Steve] What do these Games mean to you?

- It's so exciting to have these Games here in New Jersey, even though they're somewhat abbreviated.

To have it at a venue as big and as exciting as American Dream, and to be able to host it, that's really exciting.

- Message to everybody watching right now who may not really understand and appreciate the, quote, "gift of life" of organ and tissue donation.

- So it's important to me, especially, and really, it should be important to anybody because, you know, when you leave this earth, ultimately, you've got active, very healthy organs that you can leave with people, people who really need them and who otherwise most likely would die without them.

- We're here at the Transplant Games at American Dream.

How pumped are you?

- I'm fine.

I'm so glad they're happening.

It's been a while, you know, five years in the making, so I'm ecstatic.

- Biggest takeaway when people come here and experience this.

What do you hope happens outta these Games?

- Well, there's the, you know, increasing the knowledge about organ donation and transplantation.

The more people learn about it, the more people know that it's a righteous thing to do and will help increase donation and get more lives saved waiting on the list.

- Say something about the sponsors, the people who have contributed to making this possible.

- Well, we couldn't do it without 'em, obviously, and they've been just tremendous.

Even through the pandemic, you know, the RWJBarnabas Health and the Hackensack Meridian Health and Pfizer and University Hospital and all the different sponsors- - You know you could get in trouble by naming them.

- I know.

- Even though we're, no, we're gonna show a logo, we're gonna show a sign with all of those sponsors and underwriters.

This is the question I wanna ask you: the gift of life, we talk about it.

The numbers speak for themselves in terms of the number of people who have been saved, but for you, you actually get close to these people, these family members who have lost a loved one, who's given the gift of life, and others who've received the gift of life.

As the CEO, but more importantly, just as a really good guy, how do you feel?

- That's what gets me up every morning.

You come to work, meet these people, work with them, realize, you know, that something we did helped save their life or saved their loved one's life, or tragically, someone died, and these wonderful people provided the gift, and then they come and volunteer for us and become part of our family.

I mean, it's tremendous.

It's just tremendous.

- You may ask, "What is Team Liberty?"

Well, one of the stars of Team Liberty is with us right here, Elizabeth Stamler.

We're here at American Dream.

We're here at the 2020 Transplant Games.

Tell everyone not just who you are, but how you're so personally connected to this team and this cause.

- Thank you for having me, Steve.

Yes, I joined Team Liberty in 2016.

I was selected as the donor family to come that year, and I've been a member ever since.

My brother, Steven, passed away in 2009.

He was a tissue donor, and I am also a three-time recipient family member.

So it's especially meaningful as a donor family to come to the Games and see what recipients do post-transplant, how they live their lives to the fullest and how they really treasure their most meaningful gift.

- Your personal connection, you said the three-time thing.

Could you lay that out for folks, 'cause it's extraordinary.

- Thank you.

My dad received a heart transplant in 1988.

My brother received a heart transplant in 2009.

Unfortunately, now, he currently needs a kidney, and I have an aunt who also received a heart transplant.

So I have been touched on both sides by donation, which is why I got involved with the Sharing Network.

It led me to Team Liberty, and I'm so happy to be here today.

- What do these Games mean to you?

- I'm so proud that we're the hosts.

I wish we could've had the full-on Games, but I'm really happy to be here.

It's great to feel the energy in the transplant community.

Everyone is so excited, and go Team Liberty!

- [Announcer] To watch more "One on One with Steve Adubato," find us online, and follow us on social media.

We've been talking about these Transplant Games for a long time.

Why are you so excited about it, and what does it mean to you?

out to the world about organ and tissue donation and what it means to give the gift of life is an incredible message, and we're gonna show a lotta people what that's all about this year.

- [Steve] Talk about the Sharing Network.

- Sharing Network, unbelievable organization.

They came to us early on and said, "Would you partner us, with us, to put a bid in for these Transplant Games?"

Unbelievably dedicated people that just work tirelessly for others, and the whole concept of making sure that we understand how important transplantation is and donation of organs and tissues is incredible.

- You know, Jim, you have business members and businesses that are members of the Meadowlands Chamber, but so many businesses, the logo also will be in a shot that we take, so many corporations, so many organizations sponsor these Games, part of these Games.

What does it say about giving back, corporations giving back?

- Listen, corporate philanthropy has really been on a rise.

It's really important.

Every time a large company or even a mid-size company comes to me, one of the first things they say, "Can you help me connect with the community?"

And that's one of the things we do really well at the Chamber, finding opportunities for employees of companies to get involved locally with all the not-for-profits, especially organizations like the Sharing Network.

For volunteers, board seats, philanthropy, it's so important.

- Final question: describe the Meadowlands Chamber for everyone.

- Meadowlands Chamber is a business organization representing about 1,150 company members, economic development, business growth, job creation, and we're about recovering after this pandemic.

- Thanks, my friend.

- Thanks for being here.

- You know, the 2020 Transplant Games, the Reimagined Transplant Games, so many people there.

Well, one person we didn't get a chance to speak to on location, but we definitely caught up with because he's doing such important work is Dr. Michael Goldstein, who is Director of the Division of Organ Transplantation and Director of the Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Here's that conversation.

Dr. Goldstein, let me ask you the 2020 Transplant Games at American Dream.

Why does it matter so much, particularly to the transplant community?

- The Transplant Games are a celebration of the opportunity for patients with end organ disease to celebrate a rebirth of their, their new function and a new life with their new organ.

And at the same time, it celebrates the donors and the donor families that have been so gracious to donate these lifesaving gifts to these individuals.

- Describe the work at Hackensack University Medical Center, particularly as it relates to organ preservation and organ transplantation.

- At Hackensack University Medical Center, we perform kidney and pancreas transplantation for adults and children.

We are one of the few certified centers in the state of New Jersey to perform transplantation.

And at our center, our, our goals are to improve the quality and the length of life for patients who are suffering from end stage kidney disease, through the opportunity of kidney transplantation.

And we have brought a world-class team of transplant experts together, to provide really clinical excellence in transplantation, to shorten the waiting times for people in need of kidney transplants and to provide the best clinical outcomes that we are able to provide.

- Doctor, what has been the impact of COVID-19 on the transplant community, particularly given the work that you and your colleagues are doing.

- COVID-19 has been somewhat devastating.

I think not only for the entire world, but transplant patients uniquely are more predisposed to this type of viral disease.

And because of their immune compromised systems and their end organ, you know, medical health, when the pandemic hit back in March of 2020, it was very unclear how we were going to provide a safe environment for patients with such a complicated medical diseases, and that we're gonna need to be immunosuppressed.

There were the, the pandemic was, was so critical at that time that we actually had to inactivate our waiting list for a short period of time, so we could establish safe processes to make sure we can provide an environment that was safe to do organ transplantation.

So for about 10 weeks, patients did not have opportunities to receive transplants, because we felt that it was too dangerous in the setting of COVID-19.

After putting a number of safety measures in place at Hackensack University Medical Center, by doing infrared testing for detecting fever, by creating a specialized transplant unit for that was COVID free, to providing screening for code for all visitation, limiting visitation as well, and masking policies.

We finally were, we felt that we were able to provide a safe environment.

So patients would once again, have that opportunity for life-saving organ transplantation.

- Final question, doctor.

For you, the greatest personal satisfaction and gratification you get out of your work is?

- Saving lives.

The most important thing that I do and the thing that I enjoy the most is to be able to come out into the recovery room to tell the family members that everything went well, the transplant was successful and their loved one was gonna have an opportunity to live a normal, healthy life.

This is incredibly rewarding and I get to meet, I get to know my patients and their families year and year after year and for their entire life and get to meet, you know, and, and celebrate their life and their stories, you know, year after year, and that's really special for me.

- Thank you, doctor.

- Okay.

Thank you very much.

- I'm Steve Adubato.

Thank you so much for watching, and we'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The Fidelco Group.

TD Bank.

PSE&G, The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Fedway Associates, Inc. And by The Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

Part of the USA Today Network.

And by BestofNJ.com.

(hands clapping) (drums banging)