Kidney donor rides cross country to raise awareness

An organ donor rides his bike across the United States to convince others to follow in his footsteps.

Mark Scotch is a living organ donor and is cycling across the US to raise awareness of organ donation.

Scotch donated his kidney and shows the world that it is possible to lead an active lifestyle after organ donation.

Scotch did not expect such a retirement.

“I was wondering what I would do in retirement. It wasn’t on the list. I’m telling you this right now,” Scotch said.

A chance meeting with a stranger in a bar changed everything.

In early 2020, a 64-year-old Wisconsin man said he met a man who was on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.

“He said he had to go home and get dialysis, and he said he had dialysis every night for ten hours. His kidneys failed due to stage five kidney failure. kidneys,” and I immediately said, “You can take one of mine,” Scotch said.

He kept his promise and has since traveled the United States to teach others about organ donation.

He calls it the Organ Trail, charting his routes based on where a life was saved by a kidney donation.

He documents his travels on his website.

Most recently, he was in Fort Worth, where he was accompanied by a transplant surgeon and president of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth.

Scotch says his mission is to prove that kidney donors can return to their previous level of activity and good health by functioning on just one kidney, even if that includes vigorous sustained activity.

“I want to demonstrate that you, as a donor, can live a normal life after donating,” Scotch said.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 13 people die every day while waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.

“I’m just saying that if we can save one person’s life, it’s not that much until you become that person,” Scotch said.

Right now he is cycling from Lubbock to Louisiana on this trip and plans to visit other hospitals as he travels through North Texas.