The former wrestling coach was given only a five percent chance of survival
For Ken Abbott, this is more than a victory lap.
In early March, the longtime Centerport resident and Bellmore educator will embark on a seven-week, cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness about organ donation. Abbott, a retired science teacher and former wrestling coach at Grand Avenue Middle School and Mepham High School, is marking the 10-year anniversary of his heart transplant.
The ride, titled Pedaling for Life: One Heart’s Journey Across America, will take Abbott from San Diego, Calif., to St. Augustine, Fla., and he’ll be averaging nearly 75 miles a day, reads an announcement from the LiveOnNY Foundation.
Traveling through eight states, Abbott hopes to meet transplant recipients, donor families and supporters along the way.
A lifelong Long Islander, Abbott received his heart transplant in 2016 through LiveOnNY, the federally designated organ procurement organization serving the New York metropolitan area.
“My phone rang during second period while I was teaching. The doctors told me they had a heart for me. From that moment on, my life was changed forever.” — Ken Abbott
His journey is intended to honor his donor and spotlight the extraordinary reach of New York organ donors, whose generosity has saved lives far beyond state lines.
Abbott, who still lives in Centerport with his family, told Newsday in 2020 that he feels a deep obligation to share his experience.
“He saved my life,” Abbott said of the stranger who donated his organs. “I am trying to use my experience and story to educate people.”
From 2022 through 2025, LiveOnNY donors provided 130 lifesaving organs to recipients in the states Abbott will travel through, including California, Texas and Florida, the announcement states.
Over the past five years, nearly 5,000 individuals locally and nationally have been removed from transplant waiting lists because of New York donors.
“Donors in New York are saving lives in an equitable way across the country,” said Leonard Achan, president and CEO of LiveOnNY. “From the West Coast to Florida, Ken is a beacon, showing what is possible because of the generosity of organ donors. New York is a true melting pot of race, religion and culture and our organ and tissue donors from New York reflect that strength.
“Over 65 percent of New Yorkers’ gifts of life saved lives of patients on the transplant waiting list outside the New York metro region. As Ken rides through many states where recipients have been given a second chance at life, he reminds all of us that organ donation is for everyone, and that one selfless decision can save many lives.”
More than 100,000 people across the United States are currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant, and every eight minutes another person is added to the national waiting list.
Abbott was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacked his heart, at age 40, and by 2016 was given only a five percent chance of survival.
“On Dec. 22, 2016, my phone rang during second period while I was teaching,” Abbott recalled. “The doctors told me they had a heart for me. From that moment on, my life was changed forever.”
Top: Ken Abbot (far right) is a retired science teacher and former wrestling coach at Grand Avenue Middle School and Mepham High School, was given only a five percent chance of survival after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that attacked his heart. (Courtesy photo/click here to donate)
