Tifiro Cook
Founder & CEO of Kidney Care Coaches
American Association of Kidney Patients Certified Kidney Coach • ISSA Certified Personal Trainer • Certified Youth Trainer • YMCA Certified
Tifiro Cook brings over 30 years of first-hand experience and specialized knowledge to the kidney care community. A two-time kidney transplant survivor, he has built a career translating hard-won lessons into practical guidance for patients with Stage 3–5 kidney disease — helping them not just survive, but thrive.
Tifiro and his dad after a college football game.
It all started when he was an 18-year-old freshman college football player living his dream. Then, in a split second, his life changed forever. During a practice session, he experienced heart-pounding pain and knew something was terribly wrong. Two days and 22 pounds heavier, he was diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis.
Returning to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio — far from the sunny football fields he so enjoyed in California — Tifiro underwent treatment and a kidney transplant. Four years later, his body rejected his sister's donated kidney, and he entered the world of peritoneal dialysis. Undeterred, he self-administered exchanges five times a day for six and a half years, followed by hemodialysis three times a week for five years.
Living "on the machine" when on dialysis is a daily battle. For most, that schedule would erase any sense of normalcy. Not Tifiro. An avid bodybuilder and personal trainer at his own fitness center, he balanced dialysis and nutrition with an unwavering commitment to fitness and to training his clients. He started his days at 4 a.m., spent 12 hours in the gym, and returned home every four hours to perform the peritoneal dialysis exchange he needed to survive.
Tifiro has maintained a healthy, fit lifestyle despite being on dialysis.
Still living with his "glass half full," Tifiro was approached by a close friend, Jacqueline, who was determined to donate her kidney for a second transplant. When she learned she wasn't a match, she discovered a groundbreaking paired donation program at Johns Hopkins University Hospital that links incompatible donor/recipient pairs with alternate compatible pairs. That program — chronicled in the National Geographic documentary Inside Emergency Transplant — made his second life possible. In 2007, after more than 60 days in the hospital undergoing plasmapheresis to reduce the antibodies in his system, Tifiro received his second transplant and emerged stronger than ever.
Tifiro was awarded the 2019 Medical Advisory Board Distinguished Service Honoree at the National Kidney Foundation
Since then, he has served as a keynote speaker for the National Kidney Foundation Symposiums for over five years and collaborated with the National Kidney Foundation, The Ohio State University, and Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Notable work includes coaching legendary Houston rap artist Scarface (Geto Boys) to get a kidney transplant. For more than 14 years, he served as President of Outreach for the YNOTT Foundation (Youth Needing Organ and Tissue Transplant), working directly with pediatric kidney transplant patients. He competed in the 2014 and 2016 Transplant Games of America, held the position of Minority Liaison for Team Ohio, and organized the Inaugural 2021 Kidney Disease and Dialysis Symposium. In 2025, he authored his debut book, The 10 Dialysis Commandments. Today, he continues to leverage his extensive experience to coach clients and produce educational content designed to empower individuals to thrive while managing kidney disease.
An inspiration to all who know him, Tifiro continues to share his moment, his journey, and his life with audiences across the country.
Watch
The National Geographic Documentary featuring Coach Cook
on his journey to getting a 6-way kidney swap.
