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Kidney Donor Athletes
Athlete Archive
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Tom!
Right Kidney For The Trail On a special day, 8 February 2020, I ran my first serious run since donating my left kidney on 16 October 2019 – just 16.5 weeks later. At 73 years old, a half marathon trail run (my first trail run) on one...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Shannon!
My name is Shannon and I am a kidney donor athlete! My journey to being an athlete and my journey to being a kidney donor started separately but on February 20, 2017, they intersected. That was the day I read on Facebook about a little girl needing a...
Update from Kidney Donor Athlete, Mark!
Read Part One of Mark's Story here! I returned home from my surgery after one night in the hospital. With my surgery scheduled at 6:30 in the morning, I had a complete day to start my recovery. By 5pm on the day of surgery, the staff had me up and walking with the...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Maranda!
I never knew how much the “Share Your Spare” panel I attended on May 2019 at the university where I work would change my life. I had two acquaintances who had previously done direct kidney donations, which got me curious, but it...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Ken!
Come Back Ken: My road to donation may have started a little different than most but we will get there. My journey started back in May 2018 while running the Buffalo marathon. Up until this point, I was always a weekend warrior and considered myself to be a somewhat...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jessica!
My name is Jessica and I am a roller derby player also working on long distance running and I donated a kidney to my partner, Jon, in December 2019 during my university winter break. I hadn’t planned to spend my winter holidays in the hospital, I was originally...
Meet Our UK Kidney Donor Athlete, Josh Neal!
In 2018, it became apparent that a family member was in need of a new kidney. As soon as I heard, I put myself forward to donate my spare one for her. After just over a year of being poked and prodded, the big day came and I became a kidney donor athlete! Before...
Meet Soon to Be Kidney Donor Athlete, Mark!
I had never thought about organ donation. Like some people, I knew of a close family member that had donated, in my case a Sister-In-Law that gave a kidney to a high school classmate years after they had graduated. That was about 10 years ago and I do remember that...
Rebekah’s Journey – Athlete Donating on September 25th!
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths. ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross~ You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to...
Meet Our FIRST Liver Donor Athlete, Jameson!
My name is Jameson and I gave half of my liver to a brother in Christ, a friend, and coworker in November 2015. The road to donation was quite the unexpected journey. What sustained me through the challenge was a conviction that God had invited me to the...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Ann Marie!
My road to kidney donation started a long time ago, back in 2000 actually. At that time, I was in college and got a job working as a dialysis technician at an outpatient clinic. I have two aunts who were dialysis nurses, and one encouraged me to apply and work with...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Hannah!
My brother was diagnosed with ANCA Vaculitus in 2018 about a month before I was getting married in Boise, ID. I think that date will stick in all of our heads forever. I'll always remember not only feeling helpless after all my brother was 2,000+ miles away in...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Molly!
“Serendipity: finding pleasing things one had not been looking for." As donors, we so often hear from non-donors that it must feel great to have saved someone’s life through donation. It absolutely does feel incredible, and helping another human live life was why I...
Another Update from Kidney Donor Athlete, Varla!
Well, it has been an interesting year but my solo kidney is doing very well (and so is my socially distant kidney). My last KDA update was in my 6 week recovery period post-donation surgery. I was doing well and excited to get back to training after 6 months off the...
Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Alyssa!
Hi, my name is Alyssa Reitano, I am a general manager of operations and lead nutrition coach for a Health and Wellness clinic located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I am a very active person and I have a love for working out. The gym is my sanctuary, the place where I...