LISTEN: The idea of giving up a kidney of your own might strike you as scary or leave you wondering if you could live an ordinary life afterward. One Georgian woman and the Kidney Donor Athletes tried to be more than ordinary. GPB's Ellen Eldridge brings the story.

A group of 13 people hold a sign that says KDA Kidney Donor Athletes at the summit of Mount Kilamanjaro in March 2026.

A group of 13 people, including Georgia's Robin Ernstes, hold a sign that says KDA Kidney Donor Athletes at the summit of Mount Kilamanjaro in March 2026.

Credit: Contributed

When Robin Ernstes of Canton finally summited Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, she had been hiking for four days and could barely believe what she was doing.  

"It was very surreal, and didn't feel like it was actually happening until we were a couple of days into it, to be honest," Ernstes said. "I didn't even see the mountain for four days because it was in the clouds."

She didn’t hike alone. She was one of 15 Kidney Donor Athletes who, like her, had voluntarily given up a kidney, and later decided to climb a mountain to raise awareness of the need for live donors. 

The first couple of days took the climbers through drenching rainforest, but they sang and cheered in social media videos. 

"Day 3 was the first day where I really thought 'This mountain is — I'm not sure I'm even gonna make it,'" she said. "It was so, so difficult."

By Day 4, the group felt the change in altitude above 13,000 feet, and several struggled with a loss of appetite, while others had headaches or felt a little foggy, Ernstes said.

Temperatures dropped as the climbers ate an early dinner and prepared for summit night, which would bring them to the 19,341-foot peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. They started at 11 p.m. and hiked for eight hours with a headlamp, trudging through snow at the top.

"I mean, it almost felt like you were intoxicated," she said.

Robin Ernstes sits in an orange armchair in Foxtale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, Georgia.

Robin Ernstes sits for a portrait inside the Foxtale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, Ga., about eight weeks before she and the Kidney Donor Athletes climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in March 2026.

Credit: Ellen Eldridge/GPB News

The 66-year-old grandmother and the others who completed the summit had more proof: Even after donating an organ, you can live an extraordinary life.

Her 14 team members inspired Ernstes, she said, because they all have embraced raising awareness since they donated. 

Ernstes completely reversed her original take on donation, which was to donate quietly to a random person. 

"That gift of life, right? I'm now going to put myself out there more and try to raise awareness for what donation can mean to others in a much more enthusiastic way," she said.

Tags: health  Canton  Georgia  kidney donation  Piedmont Hospital  GPB News  mount kilimanjaro 
GPB’s Health Reporting is supported by Georgia Health Initiative

Georgia Health Initiative is a non-partisan, private foundation advancing innovative ideas to help improve the health of Georgians. Learn more at georgiahealthinitiative.org