Al B. Sure! to Be Honored by Renowned International Liver Transplantation Society at Historic U.S. Ceremony in Houston, TX
Honor Comes as Al B. Sure! Continues to Build Momentum in Fight for Transplant Equity, Restoration of Medicare Cuts
Houston, TX (May 1, 2024) – Al B. Sure!, R&B legend and Executive Chairman of the Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC), will be honored at the International Liver Transplantation Society’s (ILTS) 2024 historic Annual Conference on May 2, 2024. The Celebration of New Life: Raising Awareness for Transplantation for Liver Disease and Cancer Gala is set to be held in the U.S. for the first time in decades, with ILTS choosing Houston, TX – a city known for its rich history, culture, and diversity – as the location.
“It is with great honor and humility that such a global and influential organization has recognized my relentless, transplantation advocacy and has chosen me to receive this prestigious award,” said Al B. Sure!, Executive Chairman of HEiTC. “Since receiving the gift of life, I have sought to use my international platform to stand firm in the gap for healthcare equity and equal access to quality healthcare for all. It’s all about civil and social justice for my transplant family around the U.S. My goal is for everyone around the country to be able to access the highest level of healthcare, before, during, and after their successful transplant journey.”
Al B! was invited to receive the award by world renowned Dr. R. Mark Ghobrial, MD, PhD, Director of the Houston Methodist J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, as one of the leading transplant specialists in the world. Dr. Ghobrial will co-chair this year’s event alongside Dr. Constance M. Mobley, who led the life-saving team that successfully performed Al B. Sure!’s liver transplant surgery and forensically managed the tsunami of a health crisis he endured including multi-system organ failure, intubation, 38 days in a ventilator, woke up from the liver failure induced coma after two months and survived. He will be honored alongside Reid Burrell, Rosario Dominguez, Abby and Reid Gray, Olive Anne and Tres Kleberg, and Jayesh Patel.
In June of 2022, Al B. Sure! suddenly fell into a miraculous medical crisis, the closest to being deathly ill as any patient seen by the amazing medical professionals at Houston Methodist Hospital. Too many questionable and life-threatening symptoms to name today. His miraculous recovery was in part due to the medical art of a life-saving liver transplant. The multi-platinum, singer, songwriter, producer “Mr. Night & Day” has turned lemons to Arnold Palmer and used his platform to be an advocate for transplant recipients. Today, he is the Executive Chairman of the Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition 501c3, where he has turned his pain into purpose to fight for his transplantation community across the United States.
Key to this fight has been the need to secure Medicare coverage for non-invasive blood tests that help ensure that life-saving care is given to thousands of organ transplant recipients nationwide. These tests, capable of detecting organ rejection months in advance of physical symptoms, are notably less painful and time-consuming than invasive biopsies and have transformed the recovery process for transplant recipients, easing the daily anxiety of a potential organ failure. The loss in coverage has had a profound, negative impact on Black and Latino recipients, who together account for 40% of current transplant patients and a full half of those on the waitlist.
The award comes alongside a major success for the Executive Chairman and his organization. Earlier this month, Al B! delivered an impassioned call to action at the National Action Network Annual Convention in New York City, where a day earlier Centers for Medicare and Medicare Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure publicly agreed to meet with he and Rev. Al Sharpton, a senior advisor and Co-Chair for HEiTC. Momentum has indeed grown to restore the cutbacks to these life-saving tests, with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board recently critiquing the private contractor who recommended the March 2023 reversal in coverage.
WHO
Al B. Sure!, Executive Chairman of the Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC)
WHEN
Thursday, May 2, 2024
6:30PM CT
WHERE
River Oaks Country Club
1600 River Oaks Boulevard
Houston, TX 77019-1299