As runners flooded the Philadelphia streets for the half marathon last fall, Dr. Adam Bodzin—a surgeon at Jefferson Hospital in Center City—joined the pack. Only, instead of chasing a PR, he was on a different mission: to rescue a donor’s liver from some serious race-day traffic.
After the vehicle carrying the organ tried and failed to cut through the crowds and reach the hospital, Dr. Bodzin—who was already scrubbed in and ready for transplant surgery—resorted to an impromptu half-mile dash to collect the liver himself. “I had my sneakers, a coat, and my scrubs, and I ran over there rather slow, probably,” he told Fox29, adding that he had to dodge racers all along the way.
Once the box containing the liver was in-hand, Dr. Bodzin managed to find a police escort that could take him back to the hospital, where he performed the surgery on a 66-year-old man with a pressing need for a new liver. “He went beyond the call of duty. I guess he’s got a cape on underneath that white jacket,” said Charles Rowe, the patient who was already fully prepped for surgery when Dr. Bodzin left for his quest.
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Rowe didn’t even know that the doctor had joined the marathon (or, okay, a vital 800-meter part) until the day after the surgery. He says he’s incredibly grateful. "I'm really grateful for what he did because if he had not gotten it in me, I would not have gotten the liver, and I would have been waiting again, and who knows what would have transpired between that time with my body and everything," Rowe said.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, about 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant, and those who need new livers can wait up to five years or more before a viable organ comes along. So Dr. Bodzin’s effort on marathon day may have indeed been the difference between life and death.
"[Rowe]'s doing great. He's a great patient," said Dr. Bodzin. "He's really done everything we've asked of him… He doesn't look like he's had a liver transplant."
The surgeon hopes this marathon story will inspire more people to become organ donors. And who knows? Maybe the whole event inspired him to lace up for next year’s 26.2.
Kells McPhillips is a health and wellness journalist living in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Runner's World, The New York Times, Well+Good, Fortune, Shape, and others.
