South Florida Donor Network (SFDN) celebrates Team Florida’s participation in the 2026 Transplant Games of America, where transplant recipients, living donors and donor family members from across Florida, including two from Miami, joined thousands of competitors from around the country in a national celebration of the life-saving power of organ, eye and tissue donation.
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Held June 18-23 in Denver, CO, the biennial event brought together transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, individuals awaiting transplants, caregivers, transplant professionals and supporters for the world’s largest event honoring donation and transplantation.
The Transplant Games showcase the profound impact of donation and transplantation: for recipients, the event offers an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible after receiving the gift of life; for donor families, it provides a powerful reminder of the lives forever changed through their loved ones’ generosity.
Team Florida comprised 24 athletes, including transplant recipients, living donors and donor family members, who competed in events ranging from swimming and track and field to bowling and other athletic competitions. Among Team Florida’s competitors were Miamians Scott Shamis, who celebrates 25 years with a donor heart this July, and Mark Barber, who celebrated the 10th anniversary of his heart transplant in June. Their participation underscores the long-term impact of lifesaving organ donation and transplantation.
Shamis participated in Cornhole, Texas Hold’em, bowling singles and bowling doubles. He received his heart transplant in 2001 after surviving a severe congenital heart defect and three open-heart surgeries.
Twenty-five years later, he remains active, recently won a gold medal in bowling at the Transplant Games, mentors transplant patients, and maintains a relationship with the family of the donor. His pride runs deep saying, “I have the heart of a Marine.”
Barber competed in swimming, cycling and track and field where he earned a Bronze Medal in the 1,500-meter run/walk. His story is equally remarkable. A lifelong endurance athlete, he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in 2015 after nearly drowning during a triathlon swim. He spent weeks in critical condition facing heart, kidney and liver failure before receiving a donor heart in June 2016.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of his transplant. Today, he cycles, advocates for donor registration, mentors patients awaiting transplant, and speaks to Florida students about heart health and organ donation.
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“The Transplant Games are about far more than athletic competition. Every medal, every finish line crossed and every competition completed represents a second chance made possible through donation,” said Tyre Gray, chief administrative and legal officer of South Florida Donor Network and a kidney transplant recipient. “Team Florida’s athletes demonstrated not only remarkable determination, but also what is possible when individuals receive the gift of life. Their stories serve as a powerful reminder of why organ, eye and tissue donation matters.”
The Games marked SFDN’s first Transplant Games since assuming responsibility for organ procurement services across South Florida’s six-county donation service area earlier this year. SFDN is part of The Donor Network, a multi-state organ procurement organization established by Nevada Donor Network’s (NDN) leadership team following CMS approval for NDN to assume responsibility for organ procurement services in South Florida.
Today, more than 109,000 people in the United States are awaiting a lifesaving organ transplant. SFDN encourages all Floridians to register as organ, eye and tissue donors at donatelifeflorida.org and learn more about the impact donation can have on individuals, families and communities.
For more information, visit SFLDonor.org.
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