Every year, organ donors save thousands of lives. But thousands of more lives are at risk due to a lack of donors. One man is looking to make a difference, traveling to the capitol of every state on a mission.
"Imagine you're looking at hungry children that are starving to death. Right in front of them you dig a deep hole, and you bury the food that they need to live. That's what we're doing with organs," says Landsberg.
He says the statistics are shocking.
"When I received my kidney transplant, there were about 85,000 people on the list. And right now the list is going the wrong way. There's about 111,000 people on the list. Those people, they're going to die if they don't get an organ. And we're burying the organs that they need. Very solvable problem."
Landsberg wants those thousands of people to have a second shot at life the way he did. He's traveling to every state capitol in fifty days, to ride his bike for fifty miles. It's all part of an effort to build public awareness to the importance of becoming an organ donor.
As Landsberg rides through Lincoln, riding by his side is Dr. Joann Schaefer, Nebraska's Chief Medical Officer. If it wasn't for a liver transplant, she wouldn't be alive.
"There's over 400 people on the Nebraska waiting list. And if they don't get their organs, they may die. And every day somebody does die from not getting an organ," says Dr. Schaefer.
Across the country, there's thousands of stories like Landsberg and Dr. Schaefer. David Landsberg hopes by the end of his tour, there's thousands more.
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