Hi, I’m Shawna from Spokane, WA. I donated a kidney to my cousin on June 26, 2013. In the spring of 2013, my cousin Sammi posted on Facebook that she was in need of a kidney. I immediately messaged her, asking how I could get tested. It hadn’t really occurred to me to really think … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Shawna!
I started avid long-distance running back in 2011. I was always athletic growing up, but I had largely stopped exercising while I was in medical school. I finally reconnected with my first love, running, with my first half marathon in April 2011. I was hooked! I went on to run 117 half marathons (in all … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Amy!
My name is Clinton, I am about to turn 35, and I live in the Kansas City area. I am a self-employed Master Electrician, who enjoys my work, but defines myself by what I do when I'm not working. Most of my life’s most memorable moments have been made outdoors on some sort of … Continue reading Meet (Future) Kidney Donor Athlete, Clinton!
At age 44, a friend challenged me to train for a marathon. I was an occasional runner at best and an out-of-shape husband and father of two little ones. I accepted and ran/walked the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon in 4:18. “Never again,“ I said. That sucked. Completely absorbed by our careers, and growing family, my … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Skip!
I started running in my late 30’s after moving to a Minneapolis suburb and joining a run club. What started with a half marathon quickly grew to several marathons a year and even full Ironman races. Fortunately, my wife also enjoys running and triathlons and she joined in as well. I’d always known that I … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Michael!
On December 12, 2018, I donated a kidney to a stranger…now, not a stranger as we met the week prior to surgery. (Here is a link to the news story that covered the initial meeting!) My journey began almost a year ago with the interest in becoming a living donor when I saw a segment … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Kristen!
Last week I was having snacks and a bourbon on the rocks with a couple of friends while in Madison for work. I was catching up with them when we got on the topic of my kidney donation and the subsequent birth of Kidney Donor Athletes. And then the question came. 'Why didn't you just … Continue reading “Why Didn’t You Just Donate Your Kidney and be Done With It? Why Keep Talking About It?” – I’ll tell you why.
A little over two years ago I stumbled across a post on social media about a local man who was searching for a kidney. He was my blood type, about a decade younger (30 years old) and had been on dialysis for five years. He was also a former cross-country runner and soccer player. His … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Kathryn!
I own a CrossFit gym in Beaverton, Oregon and on August 1, 2018, I donated my left kidney to one of my athlete’s 12-year-old son. Neil, the father of my recipient, Bransen (12 years old), aka Boom, has been a member of my CrossFit gym for 6 years. In March of this year, Neil came … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Melissa!
Donating a kidney at age 52 1/2 was a piece of cake, the chocolate kind with three scoops of ice cream, same flavor. On the receiving end was my sister, Nola. We are knocking on the door of thirty years since the big life-changing event for her. Nola had been on peritoneal dialysis for a … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Randy!
