Two South Jersey residents who received life-saving liver transplants at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital last year are preparing for a new kind of challenge. Mike Logue, 57, of Mount Laurel, and Meredith Borrelli, 54, of South Orange, will travel to Denver this week to compete in the Transplant Games of America, a bi-annual, Olympic-style event celebrating the resilience of transplant recipients and the life-saving impact of organ donation.
The games, running from June 18 to June 23, will bring together more than 3,000 transplant recipients from across the country to compete in various sports and participate in workshops and tributes.
Logue and Borrelli, who connected earlier this year through a patient support group, both underwent successful liver transplants in May 2025, performed by Dr. Ely Sebastian at Virtua Advanced Transplant & Organ Health. Their stories reflect the life-changing impact of organ transplantation—a process both credit with giving them a “second chance.“
For both patients, the journey to transplant was paved with significant challenges, including battles with alcohol dependence, which they have since overcome. Their clinical teams at Virtua, including transplant hepatologists Dr. Hisham ElGenaidi and Dr. Simona Rossi, emphasize that the support they provide extends far beyond the surgery.
“We’re here for our patients for the rest of their lives,” Rossi said. “Our goal is to make sure our patients know this isn’t something they did to themselves. Alcoholism, drug addiction, and obesity are diseases.“
As members of “Team Liberty”—a 60-person contingent representing New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut—Logue and Borrelli will compete in events like bowling, corn hole, and trivia. Beyond the competition, however, their primary mission is advocacy.
“The gratitude you feel for someone who chose to be an organ donor is so huge,” Borrelli, who recently met her donor’s parents, said. “People like me wouldn’t be here today without people like her. My donor saved five people’s lives.“
Logue, who now volunteers for transplant-related causes, views his participation as a way to honor his own donor’s family. “I owe a debt of gratitude to Virtua that I could never repay,” Logue said. “Helping others is part of my pledge to my donor’s family.“
The participation of local athletes like Logue and Borrelli highlights a critical national need. According to organdonor.gov, more than 100,000 people are currently on the national transplant waiting list, including 9,000 individuals in need of a liver. On average, 13 people die each day while waiting for a transplant.
Virtua Health, as one of only two hospitals in New Jersey performing liver transplants, continues to lead initiatives aimed at increasing donation registration and patient support.
For those interested in learning more about organ donation or supporting the work of the transplant community, more information is available at Virtua.org/OrganDonor.
