Thousands who raced or walked around Washington Park on Sunday morning embodied different life-altering stories of organ and tissue transplants.
But one thing the nearly 5,000 people at Denver’s 26th annual Donor Dash 5K participants had in common: all had shown up for someone they care for.
“The overall goal is to really raise awareness about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation,” Cheryl Talley, media director with Donor Alliance, said.
Donor Alliance, a federally designated organ procurement organization operating in Colorado and Wyoming, facilitates opportunities for people to receive or connect to a donor.
Roughly 1,300 patients in Colorado currently await life-saving transplants, according to Talley.
“We’re here to honor the heroic donors who made that decision to give the gift of life,” she said. “We’re here to celebrate alongside those recipients who had that second chance at life, and to really recognize that our work isn’t done.”
People either ran or walked in the 5K. Thousands walked in support of their loved ones in and around Washington Park.
One of those thousands walking around the 165-acre park was husband-and-wife team Jimmy and Ashley Cleverly who, against very low odds, matched as a non-related kidney donors.
In 2023, Jimmy Cleverly, who moved to Denver from England over 15 years ago, was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, a chronic kidney disease. His chances of finding a non-related kidney donor ranged from either 1-in-100 or 1-in-100,000.
“I didn’t think there was going to be anything that was going to help him,” Ashley Cleverly, while walking along Franklin Street with her husband and family during the Donor Dash, told The Denver Gazette.
In a miracle moment, Ashley was named a perfect kidney match for her husband.
“I was able to sacrifice a little piece of myself to help him carry on the rest of his life,” Ashley Cleverly, looking back at Jimmy and their daughter, said.
Monday is going to mark the couple’s one-year kidney transplant anniversary.
“It was just very surreal. It was a shock. It was also a huge point of saving grace,” she said of learning she was a perfect kidney match to her husband.
Many others joined in spirit as thousands ran and walked the 5K.
“It’s just heartwarming every day to know that those families had an impact in saving another life, and they’ve created a new family,” Talley said. “This is really a day for us to come together as a community, and what you can see is we’re all connected.”
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