Organ donation awareness: Alexa’s Hope part of team taking part in Fargo Marathon

FARGO — Monica and Loren Kersting know the importance of organ donation. Their daughter, Alexa, died seven years ago while waiting for a lung transplant.

“We know that the only solution for the shortage is to get people to become organ donors,” Monica said. “We know that, that’s really the answer.”

In 2009, the Kerstings started a nonprofit organization, named Alexa’s Hope, to create awareness for organ donation.

“It motivates me,” said Monica. “It inspires me, but at the same time, it is very emotional.”

The Kerstings are hoping this weekend’s Fargo Marathon helps shine a brighter light on organ donation. Alexa’s Hope is one of 29 official nonprofits that are part of the Go Far Charity Team. That’s up from last year’s 10 official charities that raised $113,000.

“I think it’s just great that the marathon is a vehicle to do it,” said Mark Knutson, the executive director of the Fargo Marathon. “I think the credit goes out to the people who are doing it, the runners and the people who are taking donations. I think those people are fantastic.”

Steve Schaefer is one of the 36 runners who are participating on behalf of Alexa’s Hope.

Schaefer, who is running the half-marathon, is an organ donor. He donated his kidney to the husband of a former co-worker nearly two years ago.

“Part of what I learned in the process is just the significant, significant numbers of people on waiting lists for organs and that’s the reason Monica and Loren started this foundation,” said Schaefer, who works at Concordia College.

“When I went through the process it was all very positive. I was supported all the way through it. It was made very clear to me that there was no pressure for me to do this.”

The Kerstings gave Schaefer a framed water color print of a “Donate Life” angel Wednesday. It’s one in a series of three pieces that Monica created. Schaefer got the “Donate Life” print because he is an organ donor. She has a “Gift of Life” print for organ recipients and a “Hope for Life” piece for those waiting for a transplant.

Monica said more than 110,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant.

“That list keeps on getting larger and larger,” Loren said. “It’s just not an option anymore, in my mind, to not be a donor.”

Loren, the principal at South Elementary in the West Fargo Public Schools, received a surprise from his students Wednesday morning. The school had a runners and readers club with around 60 students participating. They have been going on mile runs for the past month until each logs the 26.2 miles it takes for a marathon. All the students are doing their final mile as part of the Fargo Marathon 1-mile youth run that was held Thursday night.

The group raised $600 and donated it to Alexa’s Hope. Knutson matched that amount, Loren said. Loren said all the students wore T-shirts that supported Alexa’s Hope under their normal school clothes and didn’t reveal the T-shirts right away to add to the surprise.

“I’m going to go run and join them. What a shock,” said Loren, who is also taking part in tonight’s 5K run. “It was just absolutely unbelievable. It was pretty emotional for me … wow.”

Schaefer has run the full at the Fargo Marathon four times and feels running for a cause adds to the running experience.

“It puts it in a different perspective,” Schaefer said. “You maybe don’t put as much emphasis on needing to finish in a certain amount of time. … It’s going to give people a level of awareness and maybe they will ask me about it after the race and then I can tell them about it. It gives it another dimension.”

Eric Peterson is a reporter at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

Tags: life, health, organ, transplant