Heart recipient celebrates 5-year anniversary of transplant, encourages participation in Donate Life Family Fun Run

Registration is open for the Donate Life Family Fun Run in Baltimore, which supports organ donations in the Maryland and D.C. Metro region.

WJZ is a proud media sponsor of the 17th annual event, which includes a 5K run and 1K walk. It’s Saturday, September 27, at the Camden Yards Sports Complex in Downtown Baltimore, with an option to participate virtually.

The race means a lot to heart transplant recipient Dave McLaughlin, who just celebrated the 5-year anniversary of his transplant on August 25. At the time, he had a left ventricular assist device, known as an LVAD, a mechanical pump that kept his heart functioning.

“My heart was down to 10 percent effectiveness, and it was really, really bad at that point,” McLaughlin said.

He was placed on the heart transplant list and had to get physically strong enough to accept a new heart.

He competed virtually in the 1K, part of the Donate Life Family Fun Run, a month after his LVAD surgery.

“[The 1K] was a big feat for me,” he said. “I did it in 18 minutes, which I didn’t think I was going to be able to do, and then from that point I trained enough for the 5K and got healthy and strong, and that really helped me get to the point where I was and strong enough to accept my organ, my heart transplant.”

He waited for a heart for about 9 months. The day came on August 25, 2020.

“Day one, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to hit five years, but I’ve accomplished so much in my five years,” McLaughlin said.

“I got my second chance…”

McLaughlin went back to school and graduated from the University of Baltimore with a degree in digital communications. He’s also an advocate for organ donations, which he said means more to him than anything.

“I’m lucky enough that I got my heart and I got my second chance,” he said.

In Maryland and the D.C. Metro area, 4,000 people are waiting for an organ. There’s about 100,000 people waiting across the U.S., and every day, about 13 people die waiting, according to Infinite Legacy.

“Our work is never over until there’s nobody who’s dying on the waitlist,” said Infinite Legacy Media Relations & Communications Coordinator Adam Falzarano.

You can support organ, eye, and tissue donation by signing up for the Donate Life Family Fun Run. It celebrates the generosity of donors and supports the organ procurement organization Infinite Legacy.

“We do a lot of events that are kind of ceremonial or in memory of; there’s a little bit of a sad undertone because we do work in death and loss, but for this, it’s a celebration,” said Falzarano. “It’s celebrating the gift of life; it’s celebrating the lives of people who gave the gift of life.”

To learn more about the race and sign up to participate in person or virtually, click HERE.