A Lucedale, Mississippi business owner and his family are leading the state’s delegation to the Transplant Games of America in San Diego this month.
David Miller, a two-time organ transplant recipient, and his wife Tammy manage Mississippi’s team, and David also serves as the 10-pin bowling captain for Team USA in international competition. His path to the games began after he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia as an 11-year-old, received an experimental bone marrow transplant in 1985 — the first in Alabama — and later needed a liver transplant.
The Millers, who lived for a time in Semmes, Alabama, now run a flooring business in Lucedale and advocate for the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency. About 100,000 Americans are on transplant waiting lists, including 1,300 in Mississippi. Twenty athletes from Mississippi will compete at the national games July 29 through Aug. 3.
Team Mississippi brings home 57 medals
After the games wrapped up in San Diego, Team Mississippi returned home with a haul of 57 medals. All 18 athletes on the roster earned at least one, including 39 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze. Sixteen of the competitors are organ or tissue donation recipients and two are living donors, joined by two donor families and two dozen other supporters.
The delegation was led by Lucedale residents David and Tammy Miller, who also represented the state at past games where current and former members of Team Mississippi held nine national all-time records. Several athletes will go on to represent Team USA at the world games in Australia next year.