Caring Causes: One Kidney Four Deserts

 Matt Cavanaugh, a living kidney donor, will participate in the 2022 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series. Cavanaugh, an active-duty US Army Strategist and PhD, will be sponsored by the National Kidney Registry (NKR). Cavanaugh and the NKR have labeled this feat as 1K4D – one kidney, four deserts. Cavanaugh donated his left kidney on September 15, 2021 to a stranger and started a donation chain. Cavanaugh is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, and currently lives in Manitou Springs, Colorado, with his wife and two young daughters.

The series consists of the Namib Race (Namibia), Special Edition (Georgia), Atacama Crossing (Chile) and The Last Desert (Antarctica) for a total of 1,000 kilometers between May 1 and December 1. Competitors in the four races traverse 250 kilometers in seven days over rough terrain with only tent space and water provided.

In a general population survey, 80% of respondents felt that donating a kidney would negatively affect their health. Cavanaugh is participating in the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series to refute this widely-held misconception by showcasing his impressive health, fitness, and endurance. Just 78 individuals globally have completed all four events in one year, and Cavanaugh would be the first to do it with one kidney.

“When my life depended on it, someone came for me,” he said, referring to a 2003 military conflict. “Eighteen years later, I paid that moment forward. I was the cavalry. I saved someone’s life, and then some.” Cavanaugh’s 1K4D attempt will demonstrate his motto, “It Only Takes One,” and he’ll write weekly updates on training and competition throughout the year.

The NKR is dedicated to increasing the number of kidney transplants from living donors, improving donor-recipient matches for longer-lasting transplants, and offering protection and support to living kidney donors to make the kidney donation process safer, easier, and more convenient. With almost 100,000 patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, there is a tremendous need for living kidney donors. To learn more about the National Kidney Registry, visit this website. To listen to Cavanaugh share his story, watch this video. Media inquiries may contact Terri Thede at t.thede@nkdo.org.