Kilimanjaro

KDA Kilimanjaro, March 2026 -A group of 16 kidney donors will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, trekking to nearly 20,000 feet of elevation over the course of eight days. They will summit on March 12, 2026 which is World Kidney Day!

Their goal is to demonstrate that living organ donors can accomplish any physical challenge that could be achieved by a person with two kidneys. This will be the sixth One Kidney Climb, following in the footsteps of the success of the 2022 and 2024 climbs summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, the 2023 and 2025 climbs over three volcanoes taking place in Guatemala, and the first domestic hike across the Grand Canyon in 2025.

The climbers are all members of the nonprofit Kidney Donor Athletes (KDA), founded in 2018. “Something important to all of us is to normalize kidney donations,” KDA supporter and climber Patty Graham said. “We’re not heroes. We are normal people leading normal lives.” 

KDA group leader and Vice Chair, Christina Austin explained the benefits of the trek, saying that “This trek proves that after donation, people can still do all of the things they were physically capable of before, and in many cases they can exceed their pre-donation fitness. Our team believes that fear of negative health outcomes should not be an obstacle for anybody considering giving this life-saving gift.”