AURORA, Colo. — Doctors at UCHealth say there are hundreds of thousands of patients in the country who are candidates for kidney transplants, and if they went through with surgery, it could essentially double their predicted lifespan.
“When people come forward and, you know, want to be a living donor, you're providing a significant benefit to another individual. You're changing their life,” said Trevor Nydam, the chief of transplantation at University of Colorado Hospital and CU Medical School.
And five years ago, one man did just that. When it came time to change his mother-in-law’s life, Jason Elmore didn’t hesitate.
“In 2019, my mother-in-law basically told our family that she would be needing a kidney transplant sometime soon,” he explained. “And then I decided to test not thinking I would be a match,” he added.
But to his surprise, he was.
In January of 2020, Elmore scheduled the first surgery he could with UCHealth, flying to Colorado from Texas to give his mother-in-law what he refers to as an “amazing gift."
“To give her an extended life and have her have more time with her grandkids and obviously her family, it's just amazing to be able to do,” Elmore told Denver7.
Now, he’s using his experience to encourage others to do the same.
On October 10, Elmore and a group of others will head to the Grand Canyon to raise awareness for organ donation.
“One of the big myths is a lot of things out there say about maybe 70% of people, you know, told think they're going to live not as a healthy life if they donate an organ,” Elmore said.
“We're showing that, you know, just because you donate an organ, specifically a kidney, with kidney donor athletes, it doesn't mean you can't be healthy and can't be active after organ donation.”
Elmore said people usually do the hike in two days, but he and his group plan to do it in one.
“We've all been training for the last few months,” he said. “A lot of, just a lot of hiking, a lot of rucking, a lot of stair climbing, not the normal training I'm used to, but it should be very interesting. It'll be a long day."
Nydam noted there is a significant need for donors like Elmore, saying, “We don't have enough deceased donors to meet the need for the patients who are on dialysis, who are candidates for transplantation," Nydam said. "So access to transplant is a continual struggle for these patient."
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