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Shelley Osterloh Reporting In 2002, Snowboarder Chris Klug made history as the first transplant recipient to win an Olympic medal. Today he's back in Park City, sharing his remarkable story in a brand new film.
I was there for the screening of "The Ride of your Live."
Since receiving his liver transplant six years ago, Chris Klug has continued to race with the US Snowboard team and worked to share the story of organ donation. His latest project is a film that not only looks at his recovery and climb to the podium in 2002, but his quest to spread the word about donation.
It was just a year and a half before he won his bronze medal that he lay dieing from liver failure. But he got his transplant. Now often speaks to donor families and reminds them he and others are alive because of them.
Chris Klug, Olympic Medalist, Transplant Recipient: "You're the real gold medalist in this process, you are heroes, I'm here because of them and forever grateful and humbled by the decision that they make, and often times for donor families it doesn't come at an easy time for them."
Since winning his medal here in Park City, Klug has worked hard to spread the word about the importance of organ donation. In addition to the movie he has also written a book.
His book is called to the Edge and Back. Friends, teammates, sponsors and those in the organ donation community got a preview of the film that he hopes will inspire others to become donors.
Chris Klug, Olympic Medalist, Transplant Recipient: " Hopefully people that are considering organ donation see my story and say ‘hey transplants work, look at this guy he's back to a healthy lifestyle, he's not living a compromised life and it's because of a life saving liver transplant'…I think it tells us transplants work but there not enough donors out there"
The film, called "The Ride of your Life", will premier in April, organ donation awareness month.
One organ donor can save about nine lives through organ donation and dozens more with tissue donation. But as you heard Klug say there aren't enough donors.
Sixteen people die each day waiting for transplants because donor organs aren't available. Every 13 minutes, a new name is added to the U.S. transplant waiting list.
