athlete
COMMUNITY /// HEALTH /// EDUCATION
LIFE CHANGING STORIES
Our Mission ///
Kidney Donor Athletes promotes the gift of life through living kidney donation among active individuals and athletes by building a community that inspires, supports, and educates people about the experience of kidney donation.
GET INVOLVED ///
Share Your Story
Support One Kidney Climb
Become a Mentor / Find a Mentor
One Kidney Climb: Kilimanjaro 2022
One Kidney
Kili Climb
To promote the gift of life through living donation, 18 kidney donors will represent Kidney Donor Athletes (KDA) and summit three volcanoes in Guatemala! KDA is using this climb to bring awareness to living donation, demonstrate what is possible post-donation, and to launch initiatives which inspire, support and educate people about the experience of living donation. We envision a world where there are enough living donors to meet the needs of all who require a life saving kidney transplant.
Considering Kidney Donation?
MEET OUR KIDNEY DONOR ATHLETES
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Karen!
On May 5, 2019, my only child died in a tragic accident at home. At 14 years old, he wasecstatic that he had grown slightly taller than his dad and was close to finishing eighth grade.After all, he had plans. Just a week prior, he had asked if we could go to the lake...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Zachary!
My name is Zachary Sutton, and I am a living kidney donor, transplant nephrology physician assistant, transplant advocate, husband, Dad, and athlete. I donated a kidney as a physician assistant student to the transplant list in 2008, making me the first altruistic...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Fiona!
Hello from the Green Mountain State! My name is Fiona Connors. I am an athlete (hiker, gravel rider and yogi), a French teacher, a proud resident of Burlington, VT and as of July 26th 2022, a living kidney donor. At thirty years old, I donated my left kidney to...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Dejan
My name is Dejan Kralj, 46 years old, an Olympian and multiple medalist from the world and European championships in kayak slalom. My best friend Jernej Čopič (friend since 10 years old) received a kidney from his mother in 2008 and unfortunately the time came when he...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Ashley
My name is Ashley Zirkle and I donated my right kidney in May 2021. I’d considered donating after coming across an article on my news feed about a woman in need of a kidney transplant due to stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease. She still had life goals, such as starting a...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Doug!
I donated my left kidney in January 2002 to a high school friend, Cheryl; I was 30 years old at the time.Cheryl and I grew up in Massachusetts but had both found our way to central Iowa, where we reconnected and met one another’s spouses. When Cheryl got sick,...
KDA MERCHANDISE
Want to celebrate kidney donation by sporting some unique merchandise? You’ve come to the right place! Wearing a KDA shirt, drinking out of a KDA mug, or walking through the airport with a KDA backpack is a sure way to spark a conversation about living kidney donation.
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Tell Your story
Are you a donor athlete that wants to share your story? Great!