meet the
donor athletes
Discover Kidney Donor Athletes
By Location
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
Kidney Donor Athletes
Athlete Archive
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Connor!
I was 30 miles into a 50-mile ultra race when I felt the familiar burn in my legs, the steady thud of my heartbeat in my ears. The trail stretched ahead, winding through the woods, demanding focus, patience, and endurance. In some ways, it felt like every other long...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Megan!
Hello KDA!! My name is Megan Conner. I'm a 44 year old singer/songwriter, running coach and personal trainer based in Nashville, TN. Yeehaw! I recently became a kidney donor on January 16, 2025. In only a few short weeks my life has changed drastically... Before...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Max!
My name is Max and I’m originally from Chicago, Illinois. When I was 26 I donated a kidney to a stranger who has since become a close friend. I'm a lifelong climber and outdoor enthusiast usually spending over 230 days in the mountains a year doing various sports...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Angie!
My name is Angie. I am 45, married, living in Ohio, and a mother of two (ages 22 and 24). I became a kidney donor in December 2023 at the age of 44 through a paired exchange. In mid-2023, my sister told our family that her husband, Steve, needed a kidney transplant....
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Larissa!
My path to kidney donation probably started 30 years ago! I married my amazing partner, Scott, in 1997. We knew Scott had a progressive kidney disease, but he was asymptomatic. We were young and felt invincible. We started great careers, bought a house with a nice...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Kaci!
I am an altruistic living kidney donor who often jokes that I gave away my kidney at the quick lube. My journey into the world of organ donation started with this simple act, but it led to a profound transformation in my life. I was so deeply moved by the...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Austin!
My name is Austin, and at 25 years old, I donated my left kidney altruistically to a young girl in Wisconsin that I had never met before. My donation journey began when I was a freshman at NYU studying aerospace engineering. One day, I had a dream about kidney...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Paula!
The decision to become a kidney donor sort of fell into my lap. It started in 2018 when I saw an episode of American Ninja Warrior in which contestant Austin Grey presented his story as a kidney donor athlete. As a runner, I was inspired by his act of giving and...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Angie!
My name is Angie and I am proud to be a living kidney donor! I have been blessed with great health and a drive to take care of my body through staying physically active and eating right. I love to work out and walk/run every day, it has been a part of my day for 25+...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Bob!
I was seventy-two and a half years old when I donated my left kidney to a recipient who I did not know at the time of the donation. I live on Long Island in New York. The recipient, interestingly, was seventy-five years old when he received my kidney. While living...
Meet Kidney Donor athlete, Grace!
My name is Grace Sims, and I am an active Colorado native. I love to be outside and love the mountains. I run (road and trail), snowboard, ski, hike, bike (mountain + gravel). I have a successful career and am working as a Vice President of Supply Chain. I...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Mike!
My name is Mike Ramsey. I am 51 yrs old from the great state of Wisconsin, and I donated my left kidney on September 13,2023. I had the honor of giving the gift of a better life to my wife. She had PKD which progressed to kind failure in 2020, at that point she...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Liza!
I’m a pescatarian, asthmatic retired educator with adult children. Although I’ve always been active, I don’t tend to think of myself as an “athlete” since I don’t like to compete. The back of the pack is the place for me. My running resume includes a ton of 5 &...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Karl!
My name is Karl Ludwig, and I donated my left kidney to my college instructor (now good friend and brother) Aaron on September 1, 2023. I am an avid rock climber, but my love for being active, especially in the outdoors, extends in many directions. Currently I like to...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Cara!
My name is Cara Syth and I am a runner and kidney donor from Menomonie, Wisconsin. I didn’t start running until later in life. At age 35, I had low back pain and a deconditioned core. I wasn’t feeling great and was not very physically active. I decided that something...