Mark Scotch biked through New Mexico recently as part of his Organ Trail journey to raise awareness about kidney donation.
Scotch, a native of Wisconsin, donated a kidney to a stranger named Hugh who he met at a bar, according to KOB 4. Seven months after his surgery, Scotch decided to embark on a bike ride from San Diego, Calif., to Lubbock, Texas, to promote organ donation.
“I am here to prove that donors can return to their previous level of activity and good health, functioning only on a single kidney, even if that includes vigorously sustained activities,” Scotch said on his website.
Scotch, whose sister-in-law donated an organ 10 years ago, decided to become a donor after listening to Hugh talk about being on dialysis and other struggles of day-to-day life.
“I knew you could donate,” Scotch told KOB 4. “I didn't know how well you could live after donation. That's what I'm trying to demonstrate by this bike ride, that you can donate a kidney, save someone's life, and still do whatever you want to do.”
During his stop in Albuquerque, Scotch met with Patrick O'Brien, who's been waiting on a transplant for two years. Both men joined local bikers and rode from UNM Hospital to a Presbyterian church nearby. They met with members of the media and supporters who shared their stories and celebrated a record number of lives saved in 2021 through organ donation.
Last year broke records, as 93 donors in New Mexico gave 219 transplantable organs, according to KOB 4. Still, an average of 13 people die every day awaiting a kidney transplant, Scotch said.
“I'm just trying to make life work around it, waiting and hoping that I'll find a living donor that can donate a kidney to me,” O’Brien said.
