MEDICINE LAKE, Minn. — Remember the Oregon Trail? How about the Organ Trail?
It's a 1,200-mile bike ride to bring awareness to kidney disease and organ donation is nearly over Thursday.
Riders of the "Organ Trail" are cycling from Plover, Wisconsin through Illinois and Iowa — up to the Twin cities and back to Plover.
Organ Trail's founder Mark Scotch and his wife, Lynn, are both living kidney donors. The ride honors the journey Lynn's kidney took to save a 2-year-old boy last year.
The Scotchs say the whole reason behind the ride is to curb any fears people may have about life after donating an organ. Her kidney went to 3-year-old Cooper last year when he was experiencing end-stage renal failure.
"It was a terrible situation for us just trying to turn it into something else," said Katie Thompson, his mom.
Lynn Scotch heard of their story, and used a voucher program to give him a kidney. That voucher is part of an organ exchange program. She could give one on behalf of Cooper, he would get a kidney back, and Minnesota-resident Ali Hansen was his match.
They're now joining the Scotchs for a stretch of their ride.
Cooper and his family went through M Health Fairview for his transplant. His medical team says organ exchange is becoming more and more common. For their kidney transplant patients, about 75% go through that program compared to 2010 when only 10% had vouchers.
"It's actually really cool how people come together," said Dr. Vanessa Humphreville, a transplant surgeon for M Health Fairview. "It's evolved so much."
Humphreville says paired organ exchange is able to allow more people more access to kidneys that are a better fit.
"That's the story of the voucher program it can bring people together," said Mark.
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