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 anonymous kidney donor because it was my turn. My wife Pam has had 3 transplants; … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Mark!
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 transplant list after learning his kidneys had completely shut down from an unknown … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Shayna!
The time has come! KDA has grown to the point that we need a working Board of Directors! If you are interested in serving in a Board position and have the capacity to do up to 5 hours of work each month, please email us at tracey@kidneydonorathlete.org by midnight on January 19th, 2020. On January … Continue reading KDA is Forming a Board of Directors!
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 later, he and … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Emily!
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. Once I gained access to … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Nick!
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 for … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jen!
Hello KDA community! We are happy to announce that we have a web store open until midnight, December 6th! That is THIS Friday! We briefly had a web store open in July and it was SO fun to hear stories from the people that ordered merchandise. The clothing became a great conversation starter about donation! … Continue reading KDA Web Store is OPEN!
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 Genevieve, my … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Jeff!
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 devastated! My life-saving … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Shannon!
Hello KDA community! This year we successfully hosted our first Kidney Donor Athlete weekend back in July. We had a great turnout, made new connections, and had a lot of fun! And after much deliberation, we have an announcement for next year... KDA will be attending the 2020 Transplant Games of America in Meadowlands, New … Continue reading Update for 2020 – Save the Date!
