ITNS Golden Triangle Chapter

What a wonderful afternoon at the You Make A Difference Awards Luncheon hosted by the Community Liver Alliance last Friday! ITNS GTC Board members attended in celebration of our very deserving honorees, Karen and Katie! We are so proud of Karen and Katie and their lifelong commitment to transplant. We are so lucky to have you!

Registration is now open for the next ITNS GTC dinner meeting on Wednesday 6/10 at Hyde Park! Visit our website for registration and more details. Can’t wait to see you there!

Join ITNS GTC for our next dinner meeting on Thursday 5/21 at Senti! Visit our website for registration and more details. Hurry, registration is limited to 40 participants and only a few spots remain!

It is with profound sorrow that we share the passing of our dear friend, ShaeLyn Beachem.

Shae was a cornerstone of the transplant community. She was deeply dedicated to her work as a pediatric transplant nurse. Shae coordinated the Donate Life Month celebrations at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Each year, she volunteered as a nurse and counselor at Camp Chihopi, giving pediatric transplant recipients the chance to experience the fun of summer camp for a weekend. She served as our President for the ITNS Golden Triangle Chapter, and we are honored to have served under her leadership.

To know Shae was to know a person of immense heart and spirit. Her passion for transplant and organ donation was matched only by her extraordinary kindness and generosity. True to her selfless nature, she continued her lifelong commitment to supporting organ donation by giving the gift of life to others as a cornea and tissue donor. She was a beloved and devoted daughter, spouse, sister, aunt, colleague, and friend, and will be deeply missed by all who knew and love her.

We extend our deepest condolences to Shae's family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. Please consider donating to help cover her medical and funeral expenses, so that Shae's loved ones can focus on being together and honoring her memory: https://gofund.me/6d444695f

Please take a moment to read this beautiful memorial for Shae: https://www.marshallsfh.com/obituaries/shaelyn-beachem

What an awesome time volunteering at the Family House and Ronald McDonald House this past week! ITNS members and board members served a delicious meal from Chipotle to patients and their loved ones. The guests couldn’t stop talking about what a wonderful evening it was, and we couldn’t agree more. What a great way to kick off Donate Life Month 2026! 💙💚

Meet our president emeritus ❤️‍🔥

Michael began her transplant career working as a data entry clerk in the abdominal transplant office at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She then became a nurse on the abdominal transplant unit after graduating from nursing school. Now, Michael is a transplant nurse case manager with Cigna.

Each summer, Michael volunteers at Camp Chihopi, a summer camp for pediatric transplant recipients. She says, “It is so satisfying to see the kids succeed and thrive while volunteering at Camp Chihopi each year”

Michael brings both expansive experience and fun and humor to our board. We love having you on this amazing team! 😇

Roses are red, violets are blue, register as an organ donor to say “I love you”! ❤️ Happy Donor Day! Visit https://registerme.org to register as an organ donor!

Meet our president elect 🤓

Arley is the Programmatic Nurse Specialist for Diabetes and Transplant at UPMC Presbyterian. She is our expert on all things abdominal transplant, as she previously worked on the abdominal transplant unit before moving into her current role.

Arley is also a Certified Clinical Transplant Nurse and is currently working on her PhD in Nursing Education. In her free time, she is always traveling somewhere new and exciting!

Arley brings and incredible wealth of knowledge and experience to our board! We are so excited for this year ahead and look forward to seeing Arley move into the role of president in the future! 💙💚

The new year means a new board! First up, meet our president 💖

Shae is our pediatric maven! She is currently the Transplant Programmatic Nurse Specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, focusing on improving education and quality outcomes within the transplant patient population. Previously, she was a Clinical Leader on the Abdominal Transplant and Intestinal Care Unit.

Transplant is a cause that is close to Shae’s heart - she has two younger siblings who have received life-changing organ transplants! 💙💚 Each year, she also puts together an incredible Donate Life Month and volunteers at Camp Chihopi, a summer camp for pediatric transplant recipients.

Shae is known for bringing a fun energy and fresh ideas to our board! We are so excited for an exciting year ahead with Shae as our fearless leader!

Another successful Annual Symposium in the books! The 2025 theme was To Infinity and Beyond: The Future of Transplantation, featuring presentations on the most innovative and cutting edge topics in the transplant world today!

The day included fantastic presentations from experts across various specialties, a delicious lunch, and other fun treats including a raffle baskets with great prizes, a photo booth, and several vendors with lots of fun goodies! Thank you to all of our incredible speakers, our vendors, our GTC Board, and our attendees who made the day such a success. We can’t wait til next year!

Be sure to vote for next year’s ITNS GTC Board Members! 🗳️ Winners will be announced at our Annual Symposium on 11/14!

Vote here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Ptc9i3JOeUaxkVbaFYhxKxULuhZe41RIt20Sxl6O7A9UQzBHVFNZQ0RFWUxEUk8yNVhQTVFTNjJTTS4u