Pictures: Steve Spatafore
Nevada Donor Network is celebrating a very special 50th birthday with its Chief Operating Officer Simon Keith.
This milestone would not be possible without the hero whose donated heart gave Keith a second chance at life 29 years ago.
Just three years after his life saving surgery, he became the first athlete to play professional sports post-transplant.
Inspired to help save more lives, Keith plans to launch a global campaign to encourage more people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors.
To kick off that campaign, Keith is putting out a challenge for 50 people to register this week in honor of his 50 years.
The County Commission is also declaring his birthday, Simon Keith Day.
Born in England, raised in Victoria, BC, and now living in Las Vegas, Keith was only 21 years old and already a world-class athlete when he was told an aggressive virus call myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, was destroying his heart. Doctors told him he had just six months to live if he didn’t get a new heart quickly. Four months later, in July of 1986, Keith received the heart of a 17-year-old boy from the United Kingdom. Just one year later, he made an amazing recovery and returned to competitive soccer, playing for UNLV. During his two seasons with the Rebels, he garnered many prestigious honors, such as being named the Most Valuable Player at the Senior Bowl. Keith was then drafted first overall into the Major Indoor Soccer League, just three years after his lifesaving surgery.
Keith has played an integral role in helping Nevada Donor Network become a world leader in the field of organ, eye and tissue donation. Over the past three years, Nevada Donor Network has grown significantly and increased its efforts to save and enhance lives. The organ procurement organization has celebrated many milestones in recent years, including a record number of lives saved and a number one ranking in the U.S. for the number of organ donors per million of population.
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