Heart-Lung Transplant woman to compete in first sport event

Stories like Natasha's give me great joy because they show that it is possible to return to a normal healthy life and participate in sports after an organ transplant. Transplant games help to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit and they provide organ transplant recipients with an opportunity to show that organ donation and transplants work.



Natasha Rogers with her Mum, Ann, and Dad, Graham.

By Ian.Gallagher@northantsnews.co.uk
Aug 18, 2013

A Northampton woman who had a heart and lung transplant 12 years ago is set to take part in her first ever sporting competition.

Natasha Rogers is taking part in three sports in the British Transplant Games, which start today in Sheffield.

Natasha, aged 38, of Leafields, Wakes Meadow, Northampton, will compete in the tenpin bowling, mini marathon and cricket ball throwing for Team Harefield.

Natasha had her operation on June 26, 2001 – one of only nine transplants of its kind in the UK that year.

She was in hospital for 13 weeks after the operation, but was eventually able to return home and live a life she was only able to dream of before.

Natasha, whose story has been featured in the Chronicle & Echo since she was a child, said: “I am very excited. I’ve been going to the gym, which I started about three years ago, and I’ve started jogging, but I’ve not done any competitive sport. I’m looking forward to taking part in something I’ve not been able to do before.

“I will do my best, but I don’t expect to win a medal just yet.

“I had never heard of the games until about three years ago, as it’s not really advertised anywhere.

“Now it is getting closer and closer, I am feeling quite emotional.”

Natasha will be supported at the games this weekend by her proud parents, Graham and Ann.

Mr Rogers said: “There are people going from all over the world who we are in touch with on Facebook. I can’t wait to see them, and see their loved ones taking part.

“Natasha is under no illusions about the games. She is well aware of her limitations and ability. Winning events would be lovely, but the important thing for her is that she is alive, thanks to the selfless gift from a family who, at a sad time for them, decided to donate the organs of their loved one.”

Mrs Rogers said: “The main idea is to advertise transplantation, and show what people can achieve. Natasha can do things now she could never, ever do before.”

Seventy teams will take part in venues including Ponds Forge and the Don Valley Stadium. Once the competitive action is over, the Rogers family will be enjoying a gala dinner on Sunday, which will be attended by 1,500 people.

Natasha says she is already thinking about competing again next year if she enjoys her experience.

“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Donor Registration Links 

Young woman prepares for British Transplant Games

Brighton woman with cystic fibrosis breathing new life into Transplant Games after lung op

                                    Amanda Chalmers working with personal trainer
By Neil Vowles, The ArgusA young woman is to celebrate a new lease of life after gaining a new pair of lungs by taking part in the transplant games.

Amanda Chalmers is set to compete at the national games in tennis, archery and the 3km run next month less than a year after receiving a double lung transplant.

The 25-year-old, from Washington Street in Brighton, is working with a personal trainer in preparation for the games in Sheffield over the weekend of August 15 to 18.

The jewellery designer and maker had an active life during her childhood despite being born with cystic fibrosis and throughout her time at the University of Brighton she played competitive hockey.

However, she says she can chart the downfall in her condition from a trip to Vietnam in 2010 where she picked up a chest infection.

Eight months later and she was reliant on oxygen and could only leave the house with a mini oxygen pack. She suffered a collapsed lung while exercising in her home in September last year.

She said: “While I was in hospital recovering from the collapsed lung, I got called for the lung transplant which was very lucky. I went on the list for a pair of lungs in May, some people wait for years.

“Waking up from surgery, I had so many painkillers I didn’t think I had the operation. Once that wore off, I was just aware of the pain from surgery from having my sternum broken and I was in hospital for a month.

“You are told the age and sex of your donor, I was told it was a woman 30 years older than me, and there are ways to write to their family and find out more about your donor. It’s something I want to do but I am still in the process of writing that letter.

“I am not completely back to how I was before but I am so much further than I was.”

To sponsor Amanda at the Transplant Games and raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity, visit her donation page.

“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Donor Registration Links 

British Transplant Games 2013 return to Sheffield August 15 to 18, 2013.

Athletes gathered in the Peace Gardens, 2008

The Star 

HUNDREDS of the country’s bravest athletes will
descend on Sheffield next year when the annual 
British Transplant Games come to the city 
for the second time in five years.

The event, which aims to raise awareness of the value of organ donation and help increase numbers on the NHS Organ Donor Register, will take place from August 15 to 18, 2013.

The games, organized by charity Transplant Sport UK, seeks to showcase the benefits of transplantation - while giving people aged between two and 80 who have undergone transplants the chance to compete in a wide range of sporting activities.

Last time the event was held in the city it attracted about 2,000 competitors and visitors providing a £500,000 ($805,000) boost to the local economy.

Council leader Julie Dore said: “We are extremely excited about the British Transplant Games returning to Sheffield next year.

“It’s a fantastic event for the profile of the city, raising awareness of a vital public health issue - transplantation, and the critical need for more organ donors to register.

“Several city businesses have already got on board with the 2013 Games, including Sheffield International Venues and the University of Sheffield - both of which have kindly offered use of their outstanding facilities throughout the Games’ weekend.”

The games last visited the city in 2008 and have since been hailed by participants and organisers as one of the most successful to date, helping to boost NHS Organ Donor Register figures in South Yorkshire by an impressive 25,000 names.

TSUK trustee Lynne Holt said: “The city has superb sporting facilities, so we are delighted to be bringing the Transplant Games back to Sheffield in 2013.

“The event is always an extremely moving one as each transplant athlete knows first hand what it is like to be waiting for an organ.

“It’s a life or death situation for many, so to see the people who have been lucky enough to get a transplant be back living life to the full is fantastic.”

She added: “We need events like the Transplant Games to showcase the value of transplantation and to encourage people to discuss their wishes with their families.

“You Have the Power to Donate Life – to become an organ and tissue donor Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

New Zealand, register at Organ Donation New Zealand

Canada - Ontario beadonor.ca other Canadian provinces

South Africa, http://www.odf.org.za/

United States, donatelife.net

United Kingdom, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save or enhance the lives of up to fifty people with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants (see allotransplantation). One tissue donor can help by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Organs can save lives, corneas renew vision, and tissue may help to restore someone's ability to walk, run or move freely without pain. Life Begins with You.