For Immediate Release:
Jeff Shapiro, MD, Organs 'R' Us, 650.508.9700

got organs?

Transplant Kids Promote Donation in World's Largest Footrace.

San Francisco, CA, May 2008 - What is 60 feet long with a giant eyeball, a 4-foot heart and 26 tiny feet? No, it is not a monster in a horror movie, but the Organs 'R' Us ("ORU") Kiddie Pede. During Bay to Breakers, 13 organ recipients, ages 1 to 16, will showcase their fitness as a children's centipede in the world's largest footrace demonstrating that transplantation saves lives.


·Every 17 minutes, an American is added to the waiting list.
·Less than one half of potential organ donors actually donate.
·Every 90 minutes, an American dies waiting for an organ transplant.
·Every 45 minutes, an American family is faced with the decision to donate a loved one's organs.

ORU Kids Are On A Mission

"The ORU Centipede is the most unique group to run the Bay to Breakers in its 86-year history," proclaimed the The San Francisco Examiner on May 14, 1997, the year that "pede" members won tickets on Southwest Airlines by capturing first place in the Centipede Costume Contest.

ORU kids are on a mission and represent 96,000 Americans (including 2,500 children) waiting for organ transplants. "'The message is urgent since 18 people die each day due to the shortage of organ donors," explains coach Jeff Shapiro. "These children have endurance that most athletes do not understand because they train on a daily basis to battle a life threatening illness." The children run in memory of ORU members Wendy Marx and Lori Gardner, wife of former San Francisco Giants pitcher Mark Gardner, who passed away in 2003 after each received two liver transplants.

Kiddie Pede Team Profile. Children hold red and blue cables representing arteries and veins connecting the giant eye with the heart in the rear carried by Ultramarathon man, Dean Karnazes. Dean has run more miles for organ donation than anyone and has been featured in Runner's World (Feb. 2005 cover story), Time Magazine (Feb. 28, 2005), Marathon & Beyond (April 2005) and on David Letterman (March 16, 2005) and 60 Minutes (March 27, 2005). Dean has dedicated solo 199-mile runs to six-month-old Elizabeth Wood in 2001, eight-month-old David Mehran in 2002, and six-week-old Valeria Sanchez in 2003. After Dean's runs, Elizabeth and David received livers and Valeria received a heart transplant. In 2005, Dean dedicated the first ever 350-mile solo run to one-year-old Katalina Thang who waited for a heart lung donor.

Fifteen-year-old Kiddie Pede Captain Jodie Hang from San Jose, who received a heart transplant at 10-days-old, bellows the ORU chant (to march cadence):

Hear our message, we are bold. Organs can't be bought or sold.
Give your organs when you're done. Save a life, it's why we run.
Sound off - organs, eyeballs, kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs....
Like mice tailing the Pied Piper, the children echo Jodie's words like gospel. For these brave kids, it is. The kids counted 92 naked runners (from the back) during last year's race. "We don't need those organs," Jodie told KGO Radio during an interview. In April, Jodie's mother, Hein Pham, will run 199 miles from Calistoga to Santa Cruz on a team of twelve in The Relay to celebrate Jodie's good health.

Four-year-old Katalina Thang of San Jose, will participate in her fourth Bay to Breakers! After waiting more than 2 years, Katalina received a new heart and lungs on September 4, 2006. Although she was too ill too get out of her stroller in 2005 and 2006, Katalina ran (sprinted) during the 2007 Bay to Breakers.

Mom Saves Baby James. When his condition deteriorated rapidly, Julie Tovar donated part of her liver to her infant son James Burger. Nine-year-old James of Albany, will join the centipede for his sixth Bay to Breakers on the eighth anniversary of his liver transplant.

Samantha Receives Gift from Dad. When the wait became too long, Derrel Blair of Sacramento donated part of his liver to his 6-month-old daughter, Samantha, in the first Bay Area living related liver transplant. Derrel and Samantha (age 16) run with ORU to remind others to consider organ donation.

Delaney Inspires The Relay. As a three-year-old who waited for a kidney transplant since birth, Delaney Corbitt of San Leandro received her gift of life in 1997, just 2 weeks before 2,500 athletes ran 199 miles through 36 Bay Area cities in The Relay, a race dedicated to her. While runners crossed the finish line of The Relay, President Clinton signed a shirt for Delaney at Stanford Hospital.

Gilda Vallente of Daly City received two kidneys in February 2006 and will walk with the centipede. During The Relay Walk, Gilda's husband, Raaj Gopal, walked 128 miles solo for Gilda.

Save a Life with the Gift of Life. Show support along the way as the Kiddie Pede with an entourage of family members and friends, sends a powerful message. If you have never thought about being an organ donor, you will see 13 of the cutest reasons to consider discussing your organ donation wishes with your family.

Organs 'R' Us, nonprofit Tax ID 94-3333306, is sponsored by the San Francisco Bay to Breakers, KGO Radio, San Francisco Giants and Anomaly Design. Jodie, Katalina, Samantha, Delaney, Dean and others will be available for interviews before the race (7:30 am) at Grove and Steiner (mile 3) and during the Footstock post-race festival at the KGO booth.