MADISON, Wis. — Plover man departs on “Organ Trail” bike ride across America to raise awareness for organ donations Saturday.
Mark Scotch was in a micro brew pub in Natchitoches, Louisiana when he met Hugh Smith in early 2020. They became friends and Scotch learned that Smith was waiting for a Kidney transplant.
According to Rachel Maske, a dedicated volunteer for organ donor causes including being a board member of Donate Life Wisconsin, Smith was one of many who can benefit from living donors.
“There’s about 120,000 people on the national wait list, the majority are waiting for kidneys,” Maske said.
In the fall of 2020 Mark Scotch donated one of his Kidney’s to Hugh Smith through National Kidney Registry.
To symbolize the journey of his kidney, enjoy a good bike ride, and to raise awareness for organ donations Scotch is biking the 1500 miles from his home in Wisconsin to Smith’s home in Louisiana.
Scotch said, “Last fall I went from my house in Plover to Madison-that was the first leg- and I did that on two kidneys. Then I had my surgery, and waited until winter passed and so we leave Madison this morning and the first stop is going to be Dubuque.”
He plans on following the Mississippi River south from Iowa. He has scheduled for the journey to take just under one month.
Scotch said, “We do want to arrive by the 21st because we are having a big celebration at the brew pub where I met Hugh.”
The route for Scotch’s Organ Trail can be found here.
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