Donor Games Athlete Profile: Garet Hil

While leading the National Kidney Registry, Garet Hil donated his kidney through the NKR’s Voucher Program to kick-off an eight-deep chain and provide a voucher for his daughter to be prioritized for a living donor kidney should she ever need a second transplant. At the time, there was no information regarding the impact of kidney donation on a donor’s health and fitness. To test the impact of kidney donation on health and fitness, Mr. Hil decided, after donating his kidney at age 52, to attempt to surpass his pre-donation personal best in both strength (powerlifting) and endurance (triathlon racing).

Two years after his kidney donation, he surpassed his pre-donation combined powerlifting single rep max of 825 pounds by setting a post-donation personal record of 1000 (DL 380 SQ 315 BP 305) pounds. Four years after his kidney donation, he surpassed his pre-donation Sprint Triathlon time by three seconds. In the Donor Games 2021 Open, at age 58, he exceeded his 380 deadlift and set a new personal record with a 510-pound 3-rep max deadlift. Note to athletes—there is no formal research on this topic but it seems to take 6 to 12 months before maximum training capacity can be sustained, so be patient as you ramp up your training after surgery.