Heart Transplant Recipient Arrives In Boston After 900-Mile Bike Ride

CBS Boston
Photo: Richard Gates (Photo from Kim Tunnicliffe)

BOSTON (CBS) â€" After a 900-mile trek on his bicycle, a man who received a heart transplant from Brigham and Women’s Hospital nearly 10 years ago rolled into the Longwood Area on Friday.

Richard Gates rode from Pittsburgh to Boston to raise awareness for organ donation.

Doctors and nurses who treated him nearly a decade ago were on hand to greet him.

“One of the goals here is for people to consider being organ donors to understand that I am here talking to you today as a result of someone who had signed up to be an organ donor on their driver’s license,” Gates said.

During his third “Tour de Second Chance” bike ride, Gates visited with patients waiting for heart transplants to let them know they can lead active and healthy lives after their surgeries.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Kim Tunnicliffe reports: Click HERE for podcast

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