I’m a bar owner in Salt Lake City. I’m also a kidney donor.

My recipient is a friend. We were business owners on the same street, just a couple blocks away from my office. She mentioned in a social post late at night that she had kidney disease and needed a donor. I reached out to her and said I'm interested in learning more. She directed me to the University of Utah Medical Center.

I set up an appointment to go and do an initial blood draw to see if I was a match. From the moment that I started the process, and all along the way there were little guides that kept me going. All I had to do was commit to the process and let the professionals at the university and the people around me support me. Long story short, it worked out. We were a perfect match and I gave her my kidney. That was a little over a year and a half ago.

All I had to do was commit to the process and let the professionals at the university and the people around me support me.

People are worried about what their health is going to be like, what their strength is going to be like, or what their life is going to be like after they donate. I can only say, it gets better. It gets more fulfilling.

During the inquiry process, I came across a hashtag on Instagram called #ShareYourSpare. It's a great place used by people who’ve donated as well as those who’ve received. I used that hashtag personally when I donated and that opened up an opportunity for a few people to reach out to me and ask about my donation story. One was a really cool musician in Nashville, and another was a gentleman up in Seattle. I talked them through their donation process and after their process too. It's been really neat to make some friends that way and to play a role in their donation story as well.

People are worried about what their life is going to be like after they donate. I can only say, it gets better. It gets more fulfilling.

Donating my kidney did not affect my strength or my vitality. If anything, giving a piece of myself away has opened space for other parts of me to grow. Since I donated, I’ve run two marathons. I'll do my third one next month. I'm going to bring my hiking boots back out. I plan to hike hard and bag a lot of peaks. Now and for the next 15 years, I've already signed up. I'm doing Kilimanjaro next year.

Since I donated, I’ve run two marathons. I'll do my third one next month.