Family fun run fuels organ donation awareness at Camden Yards

The Donate Life Family Fun Run was held on Saturday to celebrate organ, eye, and tissue donation and to benefit Infinite Legacy's outreach, education, and donor family aftercare. 

Now in its 18th year, the organization continues to bring donor families, transplant recipients, waitlist candidates, living donors, hospital partners, and supporters together 

Dewey's story

Demetrias "Dewey" Waters was known for his humor, love for sports, video games, and family.

"He loved the Baltimore Blasts. [It] was one of his favorite things to do, and he was just a really great, wonderful person," said Molly Abbott, Dewey's aunt and a run participant. 

Tragically, Dewey died after he was involved in a car accident in April 2024, leaving his family heartbroken. However, now, nearly two years after his death, they are finding comfort in his decision to have become an organ donor.

"Dewey, he was 17 when he went to get his license, and he didn't know what organ donation was," Abbott explained. "He asked my father, his grandfather, what it meant, and my father explained it to him, and Dewey said, 'Well, should I do it?' And my dad said, 'That's up to you. It's your decision.' And he said, 'Yes, I want to do it.'"

On Saturday, Abbott ran in his honor at the Donate Life Family Fun Run at Baltimore's Camden Yards. 

"My 11-year-old daughter, this is our second race. We're going to be running together. We're wearing our shirts for Dewey, so he's with us...we're ready to run," she said.

A second chance at life

"This is so much more than a race. There are people here today raising awareness about an important cause, a lifesaving cause," said Jecoliah Daniels, the director of communications and marketing at Infinite Legacy.

Through Dewey's decision to become a donor, he was able to donate both his kidneys, pancreas, heart, and liver — saving four lives.  

"It's a positive light, and the tragedy that we went through...but to be able to see others who have benefited from donation, it really warms our heart" said Abbott.

"These are people that received a second chance at life, and they're celebrating that gift of life. They might have gotten a kidney or a heart transplant, and this might be their first time walking or jogging since that transplant," Daniels added. 

For those waiting for a transplant, it's hope in action. They're surrounded by people who understand their journey, and although Dewey's family and others like them mourn the loss of a loved one, they take comfort in the fact that people are alive today thanks to his tender heart. 

There are about 4,000 people in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. One donor can save up to 8 lives and heal up to 75 more through tissue and cornea donation.

Register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor here.