‘Gave somebody their life back’: Kidney donor hiking length of PCT to encourage others makes a stop in C.O.

(Update: adding comments from Theron Hayes, Fresenius Kidney Care, KTVZ.COM Poll)

SISTERS, Ore (KTVZ). -- A Southern California kidney donor seeking in inspire and inform others is taking on the challenge of hiking 2,600 miles through three states, from the Mexican to Canadian borders on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Theron Hayes began his journey on April 27, starting at the Mexican border and is currently in Sisters. He's hiking to inspire others to donate a kidney and show that the procedure is safe and won't limit one's life.

Known by fellow hikers as "Ultra Light," to symbolize his single kidney, Hayes began the PCT "Hike for Life" in April, nine months after donating one of his kidneys to a woman in need.

This week, he hit mile 2,000, marking on Thursday a year since his kidney donation -- an act Hayes said has changed his life for the better.

"It also gives me the value of knowing for my life story that I did step up and help somebody in such a profound way in their time of need," Hayes said Tuesday.

He says he was inspired after seeing an ad seeking a kidney on a highway overpass. After some research, he found he could lead a normal life, despite only having one kidney.

"From Mexico to Canada would really be a big endeavor, to show people exactly that you are not encumbered in any way, that you're not restricted," Hayes said.

He said he did not know his recipient prior to donating, but met her after the transplant. She showed a ton of gratitude, even meeting up with Hayes in the early days of his 2,600-mile journey.

"It's really cool for me to be able to watch her brag about the things that she can do in life now that she hasn't been able to do for such a long time - even some of the foods that she eats," Hayes said.

Hoping for a second chance at life, thousands of people are added to the Kidney Transplant List each year. Sadly, over a dozen die every day while waiting for a donation according to the National Kidney Donation Organization.

"(There are) 89,000 people are waiting for kidney transplants right now. but just under 6300 people received kidney transplants in 2023. so lots of people are waiting on the list," said Laura Boehr, the facility administrator at Fresenius Kidney Care in Bend. She says there is a lack of awareness about the impacts of donating a kidney.

Boehr adds that over 97% of people who have gotten kidney transplant have a success rate over one year. 

"All kidney donors say if they could regrow a third kidney, they'd do it again. It means so much to the recipient and their families," Hayes said. "You gave somebody else their life back."

Hayes is posting daily updates and resources with the National Kidney Donation Organization on his Hike for Life Facebook page.

To get on a kidney transplant list takes about two years, but once on the list, folks can wait up to 10 for a donor. Even then, a kidney isn't guaranteed, as health complications may persist, the longer patients are waiting.