Odessa Regional Medical Center will hold a news conference at 4:30 p.m. March 7 in the Permian Basin Kidney Center, 410 N. Hancock Ave., to celebrate National Kidney Month.
The guest speaker and living kidney donor is Mark Scotch.
Scotch, recipient of USA Today’s Humankind Triumph of the Year Award, will speak at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Scotch, 67, is a living kidney donor and well known for his cycling journeys along “The Organ Trail.” Scotch has made several cross-country trips since his kidney donation in 2020, and works to promote kidney health, living donor awareness and post-donation functionality.
“We are very excited to have Mr. Scotch here with us,” said Dr. Anand Reddy and Dr. Asif Ansari. “March is National Kidney Month and we can think of no better way to spread awareness about the need for living kidney donors than having Mark here in Odessa.”
Scotch’s fifth Organ Trail will officially begin March 9 in Lubbock on World Kidney Day. He plans to bike 1,500 miles over the next six weeks, finally ending his journey in Baton Rouge, La.
Mark’s wife, Lynn Scotch, will be in attendance as well. She became a living kidney donor in January.
Reddy, director of Permian Kidney Center, and Ansari, the center’s consultant nephrologist, said they hoped the event would raise awareness of kidney health and the need for donors here in the Permian Basin.
Approximately 3,000 new patients are added monthly to the national kidney waiting list, and 13 people die each day waiting for a kidney to become available.
The Scotches said they hope their advocacy demonstrates to potential donors just how fulfilling life can be after donating an organ.
“The Organ Trail is all about generating awareness of the need for kidney donors, especially living kidney donors, but it’s also about showing people that even with one kidney, you can still lead a life full of activities, even if those activities are sustained and vigorous,” Mark Scotch said.
The press conference will be held in the Permian Basin Kidney Center parking lot. For more information, visit MarkScotch.com.
