Kidney Donor Cycles From Martha's Vineyard To Wisconsin

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — A Wisconsin man met a complete stranger in a bar last year and gave him one of his kidneys.

On Sunday, Mark Scotch, 65, of Plover, Wisconsin is heading from Massachusetts to Wisconsin on the "Organ Trail," a bike ride designed to raise awareness for kidney disease, while showcasing the ability to be a living donor with post-donation functionality.

Since his surgery, Scotch says he is feeling great. The 65-year-old met Hugh Smith, a former professional horse jockey from Louisiana in a bar last year who was in stage IV renal failure and was looking for a kidney when he stopped in for a brew before dialysis.

Upon learning this information about the stranger on the barstool next to him, Scotch offered Smith one of his kidneys.

Before chatting with Scotch, Smith was among 100,000 Americans waiting for a life-saving kidney.

Even though Scotch's kidney wasn't a direct match for Smith, he still wanted to donate a kidney to someone who needed one. Through the National Kidney Registry Voucher Program, he became what's called a "voucher donor" where he would be matched with a compatible recipient somewhere in the country.

Once the kidney donation was complete, Scotch named Smith as the person he wanted to benefit, giving the former jockey higher priority on the National Kidney Registry transplant list.

According to his website, Scotch says he was matched with a compatible individual in New York in September 2020. Then in February 2021, Smith received his new kidney from a donor in California.

Hugh's doctors say they are pleased with his recovery and he is looking forward to returning to work soon, according to a post on the website.

During Scotch's first Organ Trail ride, he rode 1,500-miles from Madison, Wisconsin, to Natchitoches, Louisiana.

"The Organ Trail is all about generating awareness for the need for kidney donors, especially living kidney donors, but it's also about showing people that even with one kidney, you can still lead a life full of activities, even if those activities are sustained and vigorous," said Scotch on his website.

Scotch's second Organ Trail began Sunday, Sept. 19, at Martha's Vineyard Hospital and Dialysis center. From there, he'll travel into New York City, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, hitting a stop in New Bedford along the way, where he'll be meeting three transplant-waitlisted people, before eventually making it back home to Wisconsin by Saturday, Oct. 16.

For full information on this 1,600-mile kidney donation awareness ride, check out his blog here, or his Facebook page here.

Interested readers can follow his journey and read educational content about becoming a kidney donor or contributing to causes and organizations that support kidney health.

13 people die every day in the United States due to the lack of kidney transplants. There is a dire need for living kidney donors. Find more information on how to save someone's life at NKDO.org.

Related: Milwaukee Radio Host And Mother-In-Law Find Kidney Matches