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Kidney Donor Athletes
Athlete Archive
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Leah!
Leah's bio Leah Stewart, from Christchurch, New Zealand, is passionate about social change, disability advocacy, humanity, nature, and adventures. Leah is a keen mountain biker - in both cross country and downhill. Leah also enjoys trail running, hiking, kayaking and...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Katie!
I honestly knew nothing about living kidney donation when I started this journey other than it was something that people did for their loved ones (I had no idea people donated altruistically either!). This all changed when, in February of 2018, my mom called to tell...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Lynn B!
I donated my kidney to a stranger in December of 2014 at the age of 46. I am a bit embarrassed to say that the thought first came from social media. I had an acquaintance repost a photo of someone looking for a type O kidney donor on the back of their vehicle...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Karen!
My name is Karen, and I donated my kidney to a friend in October of 2018. My story is a little different than most of the ones you read here, because I experienced a very rare complication that took a lot of time and suffering to fix. I think it’s a valuable story to...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jason!
What brings me here are the three most important things I’ve done in my life: I married Amy, a sweet, honest, curious, clever and adorable woman, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for a long time. We adopted Holly, the funniest human being I have ever known when she...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Kathleen!
I donated my left kidney to a complete stranger on October 3rd, 2017. I saw an ad on Facebook and I knew I was meant to be her donor. I answered the ad Memorial Day Weekend of 2017 and was approved by August! I have never thought of myself as an athlete before surgery...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Mark!
For most of my adult life, I've been an ultradistance athlete including 100-mile trail races, 100-mile snowshoe races in Alaska, 9 Eco-Challenge Adventure races (multi-sport, multi-day), and other ultradistance events around the world. In May of 2018, I became an...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Shayna!
My name is Shayna, and I’m a powerlifter turned 1-kidneyed CrossFitter! My journey to donation started when my 24-year old brother-in-law became sick several winters prior. After a month of testing and hospitalizations, he was put on dialysis and added to the...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Emily!
My name is Emily, and my first exposure to living organ donation was in high school. I was friends with a young man who found himself in liver failure at the age of seventeen and our pastor’s wife donated a lobe of her liver to him, saving his life. Now, fifteen years...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jenn!
I was so excited to get that call… I remember when I called my mother who was in Florida (where she lives), telling her that I agreed to move forward… her words to me “Are you sure”... I couldn’t have been any more certain of that. When you see someone go through a...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Nick!
My father's need for a kidney came about 12 years ago while I was still serving in the military. I was in the middle of a weeklong training exercise when my commanding officer notified me that a Red Cross message had been sent and that my father had been hospitalized....
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jen!
In 2009, at 247lbs, I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life and although exercise had been a part of my life in the past, it was never something I could quite get to stick. I was overweight and overwhelmed. I’m not even sure I realized it but I was waiting...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jeff!
So, I guess it’s my turn to share my experience although, to be honest, I never thought it was my story to tell. This is why it may have come as a complete surprise to everyone that found out through other people posting on social media that I was donating a kidney to...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Shannon!
The day I got the call saying I was a bone marrow match was one of the happiest days of my life. I thought it was my chance to really make my mark. I started the screening process and before long received a message saying that the procedure was canceled. I was...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Rebecca!
For the bulk of my adult life, I worked hard at being inactive, however, it was really more of a will issue rather than anything else. At age 11, I became vegetarian and at age 31 vegan so overall I was a healthy eater – which is a stark contrast to being a healthy...