Update on OTS Mentor Program

The Board of Directors of Organ Transplant Support has continued to expand the Mentor Program this past year.   We now have 27 transplant recipients who have completed a training workshop and are ready to be matched with a mentee.   We have trained mentors who have received either a heart, kidney, liver, lung, and small bowel, or multiple organs.     During 2022 we matched a total of 12 mentors with mentees for one-on-one advice and support.    These mentors have worked with people who are waiting for a transplant, recent transplant recipients as well as caregivers.   

Our goal during 2023 is to increase the awareness of the OTS Mentor Program among those who are waiting for an organ transplant.   Every year there are over 1,000 organ transplants in the Chicago area among the 7 transplant centers.   We want to let everyone who is waiting for an organ transplant know that the Mentor Program is available for free, confidential advice and support. 

At Organ Transplant Support we believe that “No one should go through this alone.”, and trained transplant mentors can help others through the transplant journey. 

Transplant mentors can help with:

·       Providing support for kidney, liver, heart, lung, or pancreas transplants.

·      Providing support for the caregiver of a recent transplant recipient.

·      Providing emotional support

·      Providing hope and understanding

·      Sharing personal experiences

The communication between a mentor and a mentee can be in the form of phone calls, email or visits as arranged by the participants.

You Can Be a Mentor!

Mentoring is a way that you can use your experience as a transplant recipient to give back to someone new to the transplant journey.  As a transplant recipient you can understand exactly what someone else is going through, from waiting and waiting for that special call to all the med adjustments after you receive the gift of life.   Become a mentor and you can make a real difference in the life of another person!   

How to Become a Mentor:

We will hold a Mentor Training Workshop in the first quarter of 2023, and we encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a mentor to sign up on the OTS website soon.   We will contact you about the date of the training workshop, which will be held on Zoom.  Any person who is at least 6 months post- transplant and is willing to attend a OTS Mentor Training Workshop can become a mentor.  OTS Mentors do not provide medical advice.  If any OTS member knows someone who is new to the transplant journey and would like to talk to a mentor, please refer them to the OTS website (www.organtransplantsupport.org).

To Become a Mentor:

1.      Visit the OTS website:  www.organtransplantsupport.org

From the Home Page click on Mentor Program, then click on Become an OTS Mentor

2.     Fill out the online sign-up form. 

To Request a Mentor:

We encourage anyone going through the transplant process to request a mentor who can understand, listen, and support them during this time. We also encourage family members or caregivers of someone who is going through the transplant process to talk to them about requesting mentor support. OTS Mentors do not provide medical advice. 

Request a Mentor

1 Go to this OTS website:

   From the Home Page click on Mentor Program, than click on Request a Mentor

2.Fill out the online sign-up form. 

3. You will be contacted within 24 hours with information to match you to a mentor.