A Norwich sportsman has struck gold at the World Transplant Games.
Some 120 athletes who have received transplants returned victorious from Australia after competing in the 2023 World Transplant Games for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
One of those athletes was Norwich’s own John Allen, 61, who competed in squash and took home the title in the sport.
Team GB&NI finished at the top of the medal table, winning an impressive total of 288 medals.
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John was 56 when doctors told him that he would need a heart transplant due to a condition called cardiac sarcoidosis.
He received his donor heart in April 2018 when he underwent the life-saving transplant surgery.
John said: “It was a great honour to be selected to represent team GB in Perth.
“An unforgettable experience that would not have been possible without my donor and their family.
“Thanks to the choices they made in the past, my future is brighter.”
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The transplant games exist to increase awareness about transplants and the people who receive them – it also gives them a platform to show just how strong they are following the surgeries.
Dr Paul Harden, one of Team GB & NI’s Doctors, board member of the World Transplant Games Federation and chair of Transplant Sport, said: “We are so incredibly proud of each and every athlete that travelled to Perth to compete on behalf of their country.
“Many of these people have defied the odds, experienced near death situations, and battled long illnesses, to see them taking part in sport with transplant communities from across the world is a true inspiration.
“At Transplant Sport our main aims are to, of course, raise awareness of organ donation, but also use sport as a vehicle to encourage families to have crucial conversations and share their organ donation wishes.”
David Nix, founder of the Donor Family Network and Trustee for Transplant Sport, said: “By competing they are promoting the lifesaving benefits of both donation and transplantation.”
How has organ donation changed?
As of May 2020, the law around organ donation in England has changed.
All adults in England are now considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups
Excluded groups include: Under 18s, lack of mental capacity, visitors to England and those who have lived in England less than 12 months before death.
Organ donation can only happen in a small number of cases.
Around 500,000 people die every year in the UK, but only around 1 in 100 of them die in circumstances where they can donate their organs.
Organs can only be transplanted very soon after someone has died, and they need to be in a usable condition.
Donors can usually only be people who have died in a hospital intensive care unit or accident and emergency department.
Due to these constraints, every potential donor is precious.
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