The National Kidney Registry is pleased to announce its first-ever Donor Games Regional competition to showcase the fitness of living kidney and liver donors and raise awareness about the need for living donors nationwide.
The Donor Games Regional competitions are the latest in the Donor Games family of events, which include Donor Games Open remote competitions, in which athletes complete a designated workout and submit a video for a chance to win a cash prize, and the invitation-only Donor Games Championship, held annually in Greenwich, Connecticut, for the top-performing living donor athletes, transplant recipients, and transplant industry professionals.
The Donor Games Western Regional will be held in Alameda at The Mission HQ, 2412 Clement Ave., on May 18. The event will be hosted by kidney transplant recipient Wilson Du, “The Renal Warrior,” who lost 135 pounds to qualify for a transplant and now advocates for other kidney patients.
“Like many battling kidney failure, I did not know if I would survive it,” said Du. “Morbidly obese, a completely broken spirit, and confined to a wheelchair, I could have easily given up. But something inside said fight!”
That was 8 years ago. Now, Du said, he is the strongest he has ever been—physically, mentally, and spiritually.
“I owe it to others diagnosed with kidney failure to show them how life can be,” Du said. “That’s why I am excited to host the 2024 Regional Donor Games here at my gym in Alameda.”
The competition, which is open to all living donors, transplant recipients, and interested athletes, includes three CrossFit-inspired workouts. Cash prizes of $100 to $500 will be awarded to the top three male and female competitors.
Registration is $5 per competitor in the Living Donor and Transplant Recipient categories and $25 per competitor in the General category.
The National Kidney Registry launched the Donor Games in 2020 in response to the generally held misbelief that donating a kidney would negatively affect the donor’s health, according to founder and CEO Garet Hil.
“Over the past three years, through more than a dozen Donor Games Open competitions, three Donor Games Championships, and over 180 incredible performances by more than 60 amazing living donor athletes, we have proven not only that living donors are capable of amazing athletic achievements but also that living donation can actually improve the donor’s health, mental state, and quality of life.”
For more information on the Donor Games Western Regional, visit the Donor Games website.
