The British Transplant Games have come to Nottingham!
The British Transplant Games have officially opened in Nottingham for the first time! Last night the opening ceremony of the 46th games was held at Nottingham Castle.
Representatives from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) and Nottingham Hospitals Charity attended the event, including NUH Board members Chief Executive Anthony May, Chair Nick Carver and Medical Director Manjeet Shehmar, as well as Nottingham Hospitals Chief Executive Nigel Gregory, NUH staff and patients.
The Games, which run until Sunday 4 August, aim to raise awareness of the life changing benefits of organ donation and encourage transplant patients to stay active through sport.
NUH is one of the highest donating hospitals in the UK, facilitating 39 organ donations last year, which provided 98 patients with a transplant.
Throughout the games, transplant survivors of all ages will compete in over 25 different sports across the four-day event, representing hospitals across the UK where they received their organ transplants. The event is being hosted at multiple sporting venues across Nottingham including Wollaton Hall and Harvey Hadden Sports Village.
The Games this year are the largest in recent times, attracting around 2650 participants of which 1000 people are transplant recipients. There are 1979 adults and 663 children taking part.
Taking part in this year's games is NUH patient six-year-old Henry Entwistle. Rebecca, Henry's mum, found out he had renal failure whilst she was still pregnant. Henry was born three weeks early and needed a dialysis catheter two days after he was born.
Henry's Grandad David donated his kidney to Henry when he was only 18 months old. After 11 weeks in hospital and some challenging times, you now wouldn’t be able to tell any difference between Henry and any other child.
Henry was the youngest competitor at the games last year, at only five years old. He will be competing in the games again this year with his Grandad. Henry's favourite sports are the ball throw, cup stacking and the 100 metre sprint. He is also taking part in the obstacle course this year.
Rebecca said: "The best part of the games is the community and meeting others who had gone through the same thing. Henry has made best friends through the games."
Dr Manjeet Shehmar, Medical Director at Nottingham University NHS Trust, said: “We are very excited to be hosting the games in Nottingham this year. This is a fantastic opportunity to raise public awareness about organ donation and a chance for families to come together nationally to celebrate the success of transplantation.
“Good luck to all the athletes competing!”
Nottingham Hospitals Charity has granted more than £248,000 for the British Transplant Games over the past ten years, which has helped to support and equip the Nottingham children’s and adult teams, as well as bring this year’s Games to Nottingham.
Nigel Gregory, Chief Executive at Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: “We are delighted that the British Transplant Games has come to Nottingham this year.
“Our significant investment in the adults’ and children's teams competing over the past ten years reflects our commitment to transplant recipients and donors here in our home city, and our desire to boost morale among patients and families at Nottingham’s hospitals.
“We are proud to once again support this year’s Games, and welcome participants from across the country to Nottingham.”
For a full schedule of the Games visit https://www.paperturn-view.com/?pid=ODg8822739&v=1.19