LiveOnNY

• Facilitating lifesaving organ donations
• Caring For Donor Families
• Caring for the families of the selfless donors who give the gift of life
• Educating the community about the power of donation
• Advocating on behalf of those who are waiting for a transplant

Summary:  While the benefits of live donor kidney transplants to recipients is obvious, the process for kidney donors  is also extremely rewarding, as you give so little but get so much in return.  My name is Richard Kellner and on May 16th I am  bike riding 100 miles to Montauk to share my journey as a kidney donor and enlighten others to explore the potential of being a donor to members of their community that may be in need. 

While being a live donor is not going to be for everyone, registering to donate your organs and save lives when you are gone is a no brainer.  *** LET YOUR LEGACY LIVE ON !!! CLICK HERE TO REGISETER AS A DONOR WHEN YOUR GONE. *** 

Proceeds: All proceeds from this campaign are fully tax deductible and go directly to LiveOnNY (fka New York Organ Donor Network) . LiveOnNY is the leading organization in NY facilitating organ donation to save lives.  The name LiveOnNY is meant to convey the duality and positivity of organ and tissue donation. Through donation, recipients and donors live on. Recipients live on through the selfless act of donors. Donors live on via a legacy made stronger as a result of their donation, and they live on through others.

How you can help:  While of course monetary donations are greatly appreciated and necessary to facilitate LiveOnNY missions, the most important thing that you can do is REGISTER as a Deceased Organ Donor now so that your legacy can live on after you are gone.  Please also look at Renewal to learn more about live organ donation.  Lastly, please share this content on your Facebook or Twitter to help spread the word.

   *** LET YOUR LEGACY LIVE ON !!! CLICK HERE TO REGISETER AS A DONOR WHEN YOUR GONE. ***

My Journey: After many years of mentally preparing ourselves for the reality that Joanne, my wife of 25 years, would need a kidney transplant, the day finally came in March 2013 where it was time for me to be tested to see if I could donate a kidney.

Soon thereafter, I was confronted with a crushing mixed message.  While I was a potential direct match for Joanne, I was not eligible to donate because I had allowed my own health to deteriorate due to poor lifestyle choices. 

While the news was devastating, I decided it would not stop me.  With nurturing support from NY Presbyterian Hospital , a good diet and lots of exercise by the end of the year I was down nearly 50 pounds, blood sugar back to normal and off of blood pressure and high cholesterol medications and most importantly cleared to donate.

On February 6, 2014 I underwent a laparoscopic surgery to remove one of my kidneys which was transplanted to Joanne.  Within 24hrs I was on my feet and within 48 hours I was discharged from the hospital.  I went home for three hours to freshen up and returned to the hospital as a visitor for the next two weeks to comfort Joanne during her recovery.  Within five weeks I was FULLY recovered as if the surgery never happened with no pain, fatigue or visible scars.  Within a few weeks after that I was back on the ski slopes.

It is my understanding that the recovery for most donors is about the same, although the doctors will tell you that I probably should have rested a bit more than I did the first week.  Simply put, the sacrifice was very little relative to how much my life has been enriched physically and spiritually by the journey.

If you get the opportunity to donate a kidney to somebody in your community, I encourage you to get educated and seriously consider it as you have much more to gain and much less to lose than you can possibly imagine.

   *** LET YOUR LEGACY LIVE ON !!! CLICK HERE TO REGISETER AS A DONOR WHEN YOUR GONE. ***

*Everyday in the United States, 18 people die while waiting for an organ transplant.  Over 120,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a transplant, and by the time you're finished browsing through this page, one more person will be added to the list.  Aside from solid organ transplants, more than 1,000,000 people need life saving and life improving tissues.  While the demand we have in the U.S. is high, the situation in New York is far more urgent.  Nearly 10% of the people waiting for transplants in the U.S. reside in the greater New York metropolitan area.  In the state of New York, someone dies every 15 hours waiting for an organ transplant.

We want to do our part to help change those statistics.  I'm excited to share with you that on November 2nd, 2014, my cousin Amanda and I will be running in the New York City Marathon as we are partnering with the New York Organ Donor Network (NYODN).  Prior to the race, we'll be raising money and spreading much needed awareness about organ donation.  We understand how important organ donation is and how it impacts the loved ones of those who have been given a second chance at life.  We know because we've been there.

On February 13th, 1991, my Grandpa received a lung transplant.  I was only 11 years old when he had the transplant.  My family and I were given a few more precious years with him because someone knew how important it was to give.  It's a gift that we could never possibly repay, but we can certainly pay it forward.  So I'm running this marathon to spread as much awareness and raise as much money as I can to help this important cause and organization.  I'm also running this in memory of my Grandpa Louie, the unknown gentleman from Indianapolis that gave my Grandpa a second chance, his family, and all the families who had to endure the loss of a loved one much too soon, and for the thousands who are waiting for their second chance right now.  

Almost 24 years after our grandfather's lung transplant, a really cool and interesting connection presented itself.  Our uncle Tim DeAngelis was previously a transplant coordinator and is now a clinical manager in the state of New York.  He familiarized us with the NYODN last year and we all felt that the family connection to this organization and great cause was much more than a coincidence.  We applied to run on their team and told them our story, they selected both of us, and we are very grateful to be a part of it.  Please help me raise money and spread awareness by donating, sharing this on Facebook, Twitter, Email, text messaging, or any other creative way you can think of.  You can follow my training on RunKeeper and you can follow me on Twitter @dmmjr116. Thank you all very much for your help and support!  Learn much more at www.donatelife.org.

You can also donate to Amanda by visiting the link below!
http://www.gofundme.com/c2i3u4


* http://www.donatelifeny.org/about-donation/quick-facts-about-donation/