Competing in the Transplant Games

When Jim Zimmerman lost his son, James Jr., 38, in 2015, he was lost and inconsolable. James Jr. was an organ donor, and the family donated his heart and other organs.

Brother Bill Soloway, age 49, was on the transplant list, waiting for a heart transplant due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He had gone from cycling hundreds of miles a week to barely being able to walk up the stairs.

On June 16, 2015, Bill received a life-altering call that a heart was available for him at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. It was James’ heart. Today, thanks to the transplant, Bill is doing well and serves as Director of the Masonic Blood+Organ Donor Program.

In 2018, Jim and Bill met in person and became fast friends. “I’m so grateful that somebody like Bill got my son’s heart,” Jim said. “He is a very caring person. He takes me to baseball games and stuff like that. We do so much together. He has done so much for me.”

In July, the two men attended the Transplant Games of America together in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of Team Philadelphia. While Jim did not participate in events like swimming, cycling and pickleball, he was there to cheer Bill on, and Bill ended up giving him his medals.

“I gave them to my donor’s father because I wouldn’t be able to do anything without his son’s gifts,” Bill said.

The Transplant Games is a biennial summer Olympic-style competition that raises organ and tissue donor awareness by showcasing the abilities of individuals who have undergone life-saving transplant surgeries.

Competition events are open to organ transplant recipients, living donors, bone marrow recipients and some corneal and tissue transplant recipients. The event also honors those whose loved ones have given the gift of life and includes programs for donor families.

In Pennsylvania, two teams typically compete in the Transplant Games: Team Philadelphia and Team Alleghenies in western Pennsylvania.

“The Transplant Games is another resource that the Masonic Blood+Organ Donor Program uses to help post-transplant patients get their lives back,” Bill said. “For me, the Transplant Games was my motivation to get out of bed after my transplant and get back to moving again. But it’s not just about winning medals; it’s about meeting other people with similar journeys and having that support.”

Competitors must have been transplanted for at least nine months, with stable graft function, be medically fit and have trained at the events in which they have entered.

Brother Cameron Smith, Fritz Lodge No. 308, Conshohocken, competed with Bill on Team Philly this summer. Cameron donated a kidney to his nephew, Kyle, in 2022. He is also a regular blood donor. For more than 27 years, Cameron has participated in the annual Organ Donor Awareness 5K and 10K races in Philadelphia. He has also competed in numerous Sprint, Olympic, half and full-distance (Ironman) triathlons.

At the Transplant Games, Cameron participated in a triathlon consisting of a 1,500-meter run, a 15-mile bike ride and a 500-meter swim. He earned four gold medals and a bronze medal.

“This was the first time I was able to compete in the games since I only donated my kidney in August 2022, and they only have this event every two years,” Cameron said. “It was a really unique experience. It was nice to meet and see other people in the transplant community. When I first donated, I didn’t think much of it, but [the Games] make a huge deal about people donating, whether it’s a living donation or the families of donors who give, because they are trying to make the point that you’re really and truly saving a life.”