Fife captain leads newly formed team into British Transplant Games

Alison Gray, from Auchtermuchty, will lead the Golden Jubilee Scotland Heart Transplant Sports Team at the competition which is underway in Sheffield.

It features 11 transplant recipients and seven supporters who have travelled to England to take part in a wide range of sporting events.

All members of the team received their heart transplants through the Scottish National Advanced Heart Failure Service (SNAHFS) based at NHS Golden Jubilee, which carried out the highest number of heart transplants in the UK over the past 12 months.

Alison said: "To have 11 competitors and seven supporters representing NHS Golden Jubilee and Scotland in our very first year is beyond anything I could have imagined.

“We are incredibly proud to be taking part in the Games and showing what is possible after transplantation.”

Competitors will take part in events including golf, badminton, archery, table tennis, volleyball, ten-pin bowling, crown green bowls, athletics, pétanque and the Donor Run, one of the most poignant and celebrated events of the Games.

Alison said: “The Donor Run brings together donor families, living donors and transplant recipients in a truly special way. We will run and walk in honour of the gift we have received, remember those donors who made transplantation possible, and thank their families for their incredible generosity.

"Every person on our team has their own story, but we all share one thing in common - we have been given a second chance at life. The British Transplant Games are about celebrating that gift, raising awareness of organ donation and inspiring others to have those important conversations with their loved ones."

Home to Scotland’s national heart transplant service, NHS Golden Jubilee has carried out more than 300 heart transplants since the service moved to Clydebank in 2008, where recipients receive lifelong, specialist follow-up care after their life-saving treatment.

Carolynne O’Connor, chief executive of NHS Golden Jubilee, said: "Seeing transplant recipients return to sport, travel, spend time with their families and pursue their ambitions is one of the most powerful reminders of why organ donation matters.

“Every member of this team is a testament to the life-changing impact of transplantation and the dedication of the multidisciplinary teams who support patients throughout their journey.

"Most importantly, none of this would be possible without the extraordinary generosity of organ donors and their families. We remain deeply grateful for the selfless decisions they make, often during the most difficult circumstances, to give others the gift of life.

"We hope the team’s participation encourages people to have conversations about organ donation with their families. Those discussions can ultimately save lives and create opportunities for people to live life to the fullest."