How One Conversation Started “The Organ Trail”: The Story of Mark and Lynn Scotch
Meet Mark and Lynn Scotch, a couple from Wisconsin who epitomize the transformative impact of selfless giving. Their remarkable decision to donate a kidney serves as a story of altruism and compassion that inspires us all. Mark’s passion for bike riding has now become a symbol of awareness and empowerment through “The Organ Trail,” where he bikes across the country and demonstrates that even with one kidney, you can live a physically demanding life.
Their story begins with a chance encounter in Louisiana, where Mark meets Hugh Smith. After an hour of conversation, Mark had learned that Hugh was on dialysis and in need of a kidney. Strangers the day before and only knowing each other for an hour, Mark decided in that bar, to give Hugh one of his kidneys. As Mark and Lynn went home, they began researching the kidney donation process and were alarmed to find that 13 people waiting for a life-saving kidney die each day, and this only fueled them further. They saw this need for kidney donors and wanted to help.
Mark and Lynn were initially told that they would have to go to Louisiana for the donation process; however, this would be a very large commitment. That is until they discovered the National Kidney Registry Voucher program. With this voucher, Mark would be matched with the best recipient for his kidney from somewhere in the country. After his donation, Mark could name Hugh as the person he wanted to “benefit,” which would move him to the top of the National Kidney registry’s transplant list. This voucher also allowed for Mark to do everything from his local hospital in Madison, Wisconsin while Hugh went to his local hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. Mark’s kidney ended up going to a recipient in New York, While Hugh received one from someone in Southern California. And if donating one kidney wasn’t sufficient for Mark, he also donated a part of his liver in mid-2023.
Lynn accompanied Mark to his evaluations and was alongside him throughout the process, other than the surgery itself. Lynn tells us that she “couldn’t come up with a single reason “ to not become a donor herself. However, unlike Mark’s process, which went fairly smooth and “routine-like,” Lynn's donation process took approximately two-and-a-half years. Why? Covid-19. The University of Wisconsin decided to temporarily suspend their living donor surgeries at the start of the pandemic. Lynn, however, contracted a mild case of Covid in January. Her surgery for February 2021 was pushed to March 2021 because of Covid but in her pre-op bloodwork, the doctors found that her platelets had dropped drastically. Platelets are essential for blood clotting, and although Lynn was not directly in danger, the transplant center canceled the surgery because they did not want to risk potential complications during the surgery or Lynn’s recovery. The doctors tracked Lynn’s platelet levels for approximately 18 months until they rose to sufficient levels and she was able to donate in January 2023. Lynn’s kidney went to an individual in Illinois and she was able to use her voucher on two-year-old Cooper in Minnesota, who had been on dialysis since he was 8 months old.
Mark’s strong passion for biking resulted in the couple deciding to turn those long bike rides into awareness rides. Taking inspiration from an organization called Kidney Donor Athletes, the Organ Trail became proof that you can maintain a normal and active lifestyle, even with one kidney. The Organ Trail’s mission is to encourage people to get evaluated, and if deemed healthy, make an informed decision. Mark and Lynn tell us that “it was easy for [them] to make that time commitment, but there are a suite of protections that are in place for individuals,” such as “reimbursement for lost wages,” and programs to help the donor with any expenses that a donor may accrue in their donation journey (transportation, etc.). Now what about this lingering question: “what if Mark and Lynn ever need a kidney?” Well, as living donors, they would be placed on the top of the transplant list should that need ever arise. At the end of our talk, Mark told us that they will do a bicycle ride that highlights Lynn’s donation, and they will ride from Wisconsin to Illinois, to Minnesota, and back to Wisconsin.
At the heart of Mark and Lynn’s story is a profound belief in the power of giving. They tell us that “there’s nothing that compares to donating a kidney that we see. That has the most impact, not only on the person that needs the kidney, but their entire family…[just one donation] changes so many people’s lives.” Their organ donation journeys started with a one hour-long conversation, and if that’s not a testament to our ability for empathy and compassion, then what else is?