Manhattan Man Raising Awareness For Living Organ Donation

MANHATTAN, IL — Manhattan resident Katherine Malone was waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant. She waited for about four years. It never came. She died June 4, 2021.

But Katherine's death — and the approximately 17 other deaths per day of people who are awaiting a transplant, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration — possibly could have been prevented if more people knew about living organ donations, said Kevin Malone, Katherine's husband.

Spreading that awareness has become Kevin's mission. He started the Katherine Malone Foundation, a 501c(3) organization in her memory, to help achieve that mission.

"When she passed away, I decided to start a foundation in her name, whose sole mission is to bring awareness to the importance from living organ donation," Kevin said.

Living donors can have medical expenses for testing and surgery covered by their insurance, can remain anonymous, should recover within six to eight weeks and resume a normal lifestyle following the donation, according to information on the Katherine Malone Foundation website.

There are two main reasons, Kevin said, why raising awareness is important: First, it will drastically reduce the number of people on the waitlist; and then by reducing that number, fewer people will die, he said.

There were 90,483 registrations just for kidney transplants on the waitlist, the largest number for any organ transplant, according to 2021 data from HRSA. Of those, 24,670 transplants were performed. Most of the organs were donated by people who died.

The Katherine Malone Foundation's mission is something that she would have been proud of, Kevin said. Katherine spent the majority of her adult life, about 20 years, working to help people with disabilities.

"She spent her entire life working to help other people, and so I felt that the best way to honor her legacy is to start this foundation, in which the foundation can help other people, as well," Kevin said.

One of the ways the foundation aims to achieve that goal is by working with a team of volunteers and collective resources for those waiting for or have received kidney transplants and provide services for them, including everyday tasks such as cleaning the house, grocery shopping and meal preparation, Kevin said.

The foundation will host the Katherine Malone Foundation Golf Tournament June 4 at Morris Country Club, Nettle Creek Course, located at 2615 W. U.S. Route 6 in Morris.

The tournament will include golf beginning at 8 a.m., food and beverages throughout the event, and an awards reception at approximately noon.

Those interested can register for the tournament in a variety of slots: individually, choose to participate as a group as a sponsor, or purchase tickets only for the awards ceremony. Registration costs vary based on the how one chooses to participate.

To register for the Katherine Malone Foundation Golf Tournament, follow this link.