LONGWOOD, Fla. — Hundreds of people gathered at Lyman High School’s football stadium early Saturday morning to celebrate how organ transplants – and their donors – can change lives.

The “GR8 TO DON8” Run for Organ Donation race was held to celebrate local donor heroes and encourage more conversations about the process of becoming an organ donor, according to event organizer OurLegacy. 

More than 42,000 organ transplants were performed last year throughout the U.S., including more than 3,000 in Florida, according to data collected by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). 

But many people in need of organ transplants don’t ever get them: currently, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting transplants, according to UNOS data. The Biden Administration recently announced its plans to try and break up UNOS, which has controlled the country’s organ transplant system for decades, according to the Associated Press.

Pinwheel - these were used at the race to symbolize how energy can be captured and passed on, according to event organizer OurLegacy. People decorated their pinwheels with pictures and knick-knacks in honor of their loved ones who donated organs.

Although many people die each year while awaiting a transplant, Miami resident Don Anacker, 77, is one of the lucky ones. Twelve and a half years ago, he says, his life was saved by an “angel donor,” who gave Anacker his heart. 

“I was walking towards that wall without a door, and it was coming very, very fast,” Anacker said, remembering his experience waiting for a heart transplant. “All of a sudden, that door opened. My donor family said yes, and made it real.”

Anacker says his own heart transplant inspired his son to register as an organ donor. Several years later, Anacker’s son tragically died at the age of 50 – passing on many of his organs to people awaiting transplants.

“When he passed, he was able, and donated everything,” Anacker said. “So that was a giving back, another miracle.”

Eternally grateful for his own heart donor’s gift of life, Anacker says he now enjoys giving back to the community, including by encouraging others to consider becoming organ donors, and speaking at events like Saturday’s race. Anacker was joined by five other heart transplant recipients who addressed the crowd ahead of Saturday’s 8K and 5K races.

“A lot of people don’t make it because their time runs out, because of the lack of donors,” Anacker said. “People spend their time, in a lot of cases, in the hospital for a year and a half, two years.”

More than sixty people in matching T-shirts turned out Saturday morning to honor one man: Mike, whose organs helped four different people in need of transplants following his sudden death, according to Mike’s widow Robin Covello. 

In an interview with Spectrum News, Covello described the meaning behind the “Be Like Mike” message printed on those matching light blue T-shirts.

Members of the “Be Like Mike” team pose for a photo at Saturday’s race (People on the right are Robin Covello/Mike’s widow, and Mike’s longtime friend Angelo Rauso)

“I was having a very hard time adjusting to losing him. And I would say to myself: ‘Be like Mike. Be strong, be helpful. If someone asks for help, help them,’” Covello said. “‘If you don’t wanna leave the house, leave the house. If you don’t wanna take that hike, take that hike. Just be like Mike.’”

Covello says she and her late husband met when they were just 16 and spent over forty years together, before he suddenly passed almost a year and a half ago. He’s remembered fondly not only by Covello, but by countless others, too, for his altruism and optimistic life outlook.

“Mike was just a wonderful, wonderful human being. He just was like a friend to everybody,” said longtime friend Angelo Rauso, who said he met the Costellos in New York City in the late 1980s. Both couples eventually moved down to Florida, and Rauso said Mike was the best man in his wedding. 

“He enjoyed life, he laughed, he wanted to do things and he wanted … to do things the right way, all the time,” Rauso said. “It was wonderful knowing him, and it was horrible having him leave us.”

His death was tragic and unexpected. But Covello says she is grateful organ donation allowed her beloved Mike to continue helping others, true to form.

“The other part of the ‘be like Mike’ is to be an organ donor. So help somebody else,” Covello said. 

Last year, 231 Central Floridians donated organs and AdventHealth's Transplant Institute performed 216 life-saving organ transplants, according to OurLegacy. AdventHealth was the presenter of Saturday morning's event.