Wednesday 6 October 2010

The British Transplant Games


On the 22nd August, LLTGL Trustee Holly Shaw and Advocate Andrea Evans had the privilege of attending the British Transplant Games - not to take part in any races we hasten to add (who knows, maybe next year!) but to host a stand and represent Live Life Then Give Life.


They set up the stand and chatted to various people about Organ Donation, and were obviously speaking to a somewhat converted audience as everyone there was affected by transplantation! However it was great to see some familiar faces such as Bethany Salmon, Catriona Hamilton of Transplant Kids and Pauline Weaver and other members of the Donor Family Network.


Everyone had the same thing in common yet the competition was as fierce as any other event in the athletic calander! Speaking to one athlete James Colbeck, he said “Training for months to compete against similarly able athletes is an achievement in itself, but the competition was fantastic. I am thankful for my background in athletics, but natural thirst for winning isn't enough anymore and for the World Transplant Games in Sweden I will have to work a lot harder. Of course I couldn't be here if it wasn't for all those involved at Manchester Royal Infirmary, friends and of course, my mum without whose gift of life [her kidney], I wouldn't be able to compete at all.”

Andrea and Holly watched races and events and found it heart-warming to think everyone at the games had the same thing in common, they had all had transplants and they wouldn’t be competing (or may not even be alive) if it wasn’t for someone signing the organ donor register and their family agreeing to donation.

Please sign the Organ Donor Register so that more people can take part in the transplant games, but not only that so more people can have a second chance at life!


Think about it, talk about it, do something about it.



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