By Cheryl Gredlein
For the Pocono Record

    Bill Rogers was living a typical lifestyle in 1998, taking classes at East Stroudsburg University and going home every night to his wife and two children, when the unthinkable happened. After going for some tests, he discovered that he had a genetic disease - polycystic kidneys - that could result in complete kidney failure and death if not detected early.

    "My mother and her twin sister, my aunt, both died of the disease. They never saw my brother graduate. They never met their grandkids," said Bill Rogers. "You just don't realize what the situation is like until you go through it yourself."

    Rogers spent 2 1/2 years on dialysis, going in for treatment three days a week, four hours a day. Finally in June 2000, Rogers was informed that a kidney was available, and that it was a perfect match. The kidney was flown in from Utah and, after it was misplaced at the airport, it was located and the procedure took place.

    Rogers plans to participate in the U.S. Transplant Games scheduled to be held in June in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. He plans to compete in bicycling and the shot-put event.

    "When you are on dialysis, you are just so weak, you don't feel like doing anything," he said. "I want to give people hope that once you get a transplant, you can do anything."

    Rogers plans to represent his mother and aunt in the games and to show others how transplants benefit people, he said.

    "Gallagher and Gallagher (Advertising & Marketing) has been such a big help. Without their help, I don't think I would be going," he said. "Gallagher's son had a kidney transplant and heard that I wanted to participate in the games on the radio. They know everybody in town and helped me raise funds." Gallagher is just one of Rogers' many local sponsors.

    Rogers plans to take his family - his wife, Heidi, and their two sons - with him to the games. "I was in a gas station the other day and saw some people playing the lottery and said, 'I already won the lottery!' I was one out of 43,000 in the country that needed a transplant, and they found a perfect match for me." he said.

    Rogers pointed out that Pennsylvania is one of the states with the highest donor awareness in the country, but there is still more to be done. "Fifteen thousand people in the area still need a transplant, but we are 400 times better than the national average. Still, 16 people die a day because they could not get the transplant that they need." he said.

    "The U.S. Transplant Games are designed to raise awareness and to educate the public about the need for organ and tissue donation and the success of transplantation," said Mary Vetter, manager of Team Philadelphia, of which Bill Rogers is a part.

    The games are organized every other year by the National Kidney Foundation. The games have been held since 1990 and are a celebration of life among the recipients, their families and the families of the donors.

    Team Philadelphia 2002 is organized by the Gift of Life Donor Program, which has 13 transplant centers throughout the area where heart, kidney, liver, lung and pancreas transplants take place, and the National Kidney Foundation of the Delaware Valley. Gift of Life coordinated organ donations from 298 local donors, the largest number of donors in any one region in the country.

    The Olympic-style games will again be held at Disney's Wide World of Sports at the end of June. In 2000, 1,800 athletes participated in the games.

   "We (in Team Philadelphia) are expecting about 200 athletes this year," Vetter said. "Team Philadelphia has consistently been one of the largest and most successful teams at the games. Team members in 2000 ranged from 3 to 78 years old."

    Rogers also plans to participate in the third annual National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Walk scheduled for Saturday as part of Donor Awareness Week.

    The Northeastern Pennsylvania Transplant Support Group is sponsoring the local walk which will start 10:30 a.m. at East Stroudsburg High School South on North Courtland Street and end at Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg. The walk is open to the public; participants are asked to have a sponsor and make a contribution, but it is not required to walk.

    "The walk is designed to raise awareness of the need to become an organ donor" said Dale Payne, treasurer and board member of NEPATSG. The non-profit organization conducts meetings to help support transplant candidates, donor families and recipients in this stressful time. The group also hopes to raise awareness in the community through education.

    There are several ways to become an organ donor: specify the choice on your drivers's license, include it in your will or make your family aware of your wishes.

    "As they say, don't take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here. It's so important," said Payne.

This story appeared on page B-1, Thursday, April 18, 2002 in the Pocono Record.