Oxfordshire organ transplant recipients say it is 'life-giving'
Organ donation is "life-giving" and provides recipients with a "new lease of life", three people who previously received transplants have told the BBC.Jack Beever, Blossom Martin, James Lawton were all speaking ahead of next months British Transplant Games, which is an Olympics-style sporting event for people who have received organ transplants.The multi-sport festival is taking place in Oxford next year for the first time, with more than a thousand participants set to descend on the city."Organ donation is so important, and for everyone involved it makes such a difference, not just for me but for my family," Mr Beever, 19, said.
Ms Martin, who received a kidney transplant from her mum two years ago, said: "Organ donation is life-giving, it's given me a new lease of life and if you can give something to someone else that you don't need, its win-win for everyone."The 19-year-old said her transplant meant she could "dedicate so much more time to whatever I want to do - it's amazing".
Explaining what life was like before his kidney transplant earlier this year, Mr Beever said: "I was so restricted with everything I could do - I was in bed all the time feeling really tired and poorly.""The second I had it, it was just amazing - I had so much energy, I could do so much more around the house, I could eat whatever I wanted, it was amazing."He said organ donation made "such a difference for everyone involved"."I wouldn't be here without organ donation," Mr Lawton said, adding: "My wife and my kids wouldn't have me around without my transplant."
All three will be competing for Team Oxford at the British Transplant Games, which takes place between 31 July and 3 August.The games will see 1,045 athletes - ranging from ages three to eighty-plus - compete against one-another across 25 different sports.Paul Harden, chairman of the charity Tranplsant Active - which organises the games, said: "Organ donation can transform these people's lives from a life threating situation to one where they can compete in all of these sports."
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
Patients with common eye condition face sight loss due to care delays
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Patients with a common eye condition risk losing their sight permanently due to delays in care, experts have warned. The Association of Optometrists (AOP) said the current approach to glaucoma in England is 'failing the public'. It comes as a survey by the organisation found more than half of high street optometrists have witnessed patients going blind from the condition because of late detection or delays in treatment. Glaucoma affects about 700,000 people in the UK. It is caused by fluid building up in the front part of the eye, leading to the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, becoming damaged. The condition does not usually cause any symptoms to begin with and can develop slowly over many years. A report by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists suggests cases could rise by 22% by 2035. AOP chief executive Adam Sampson said: 'The current approach to glaucoma in England is failing the public. 'Each year, people are faced with the reality of permanent sight loss as a direct result of delays to care and inconsistencies in eye care provision. 'But glaucoma services led by optometrists show that it does not need to be this way.' According to the AOP, reforms in Wales in 2022 mean optometrists can offer glaucoma services on the high street, with schemes also running in Scotland and in some areas of England. It is now calling for the Government to commit to a national glaucoma pathway for England, working with high street opticians to ensure patients have equal access to treatment. An AOP survey of 915 optometrists found 54% had witnessed a patient with glaucoma permanently losing their sight in the last year. The poll also found more than six in 10 optometrists believe most of their patients are unaware of the condition or its risk factors, which include age, ethnicity and some medical conditions like diabetes. Mr Sampson added: 'The research we have conducted reveals a national glaucoma pathway in England could free up 300,000 hospital eye appointments and save the NHS over £12m every year. 'We are calling on the Government to act now to overhaul health in England. 'We must ensure high street optometrists can protect the public by detecting, monitoring and treating glaucoma, and ease the burden on hospital eye services.' Matt Weale was diagnosed with glaucoma after a routine eye test in 2021 revealed dangerously high pressure in his left eye. The 54-year-old said: 'By the time I was finally offered a follow-up appointment, my vision had already started to deteriorate. 'I felt like I was falling through the cracks, and it was terrifying – not knowing if I was going to lose my sight because the system was too stretched to see me. 'If I hadn't been able to pay for private care, I truly believe I would have gone blind in my left eye. I lost confidence, I had to give up my job, the things I loved – like playing football and performing.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
NHS to use AI ‘alarm system' to prevent future patient safety scandals in world-first
The NHS is to use AI to analyse hospital data and sound the alarm on potential patient safety scandals early, in what will be a world-first. Patterns of deaths, serious injuries, abuse or other incidents that go otherwise undetected will be identified. The move, part of a new 10-year plan for the health service, follows a series of scandals in the NHS. These include Mid Staffs, where an estimated up to 1,200 patients died as a result of poor care, and the Countess of Chester Hospital, for which nurse Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole life orders after she was convicted of killing seven babies and attempting to murder seven more. Earlier this month, health secretary Wes Streeting announced a national investigation into "systemic" failures in maternity care, after families were "gaslit" in their search for the truth. Mr Streeting said the AI plan would make it easier to spot danger signs earlier. A new maternity AI system will launch across NHS trusts from November, using "near real-time data" to flag higher-than-expected rates of death, stillbirth and brain injury. Mr Streeting said: "While most treatments in the NHS are safe, even a single lapse that puts a patient at risk is one too many. "Behind every safety breach is a person, a life altered, a family devastated, sometimes by heartbreaking loss. "By embracing AI and introducing world-first early warning systems, we'll spot dangerous signs sooner and launch rapid inspections before harm occurs. "This technology will save lives, catching unsafe care before it becomes a tragedy. "It's a vital part of our commitment to move the NHS from analogue to digital, delivering better, safer care for everyone." Where the AI flags concerns, specialist teams from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be sent out to investigate. Professor Meghana Pandit, co-national medical director of the NHS, said England would be the 'first country in the world to trial an AI-enabled warning system to flag patient safety issues which will rapidly analyse routine hospital data and reports submitted by healthcare staff from community settings. "The move will turbo-charge the speed and efficiency with which we identify patient safety concerns and enable us to respond rapidly to improve patient care." The chief executive of the CQC Sir Julian Hartley said the move would allow the health service to 'develop a stronger focus on all dimensions of quality'. But nursing leaders expressed concerns that it could lead to other ways to improve patient safety being ignored. The general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Professor Nicola Ranger said: "The guaranteed way to improve care is to raise staffing levels. In the NHS today, one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. The situation is drastically unsafe. By the time an inspection takes place, it could already be too late. "Technology will always have a role to play, but having the right number of staff on the front line of care is the place to start the investment to make patients safe." At the weekend the health secretary vowed to use tech as a 'great social leveller', and said he wants robots to perform one in eight operations by 2035. Reports also suggest more than 200 bodies running parts of the NHS could be for the chop, after Mr Streeting called for 'more doers and fewer checkers.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
It really shouldn't be radical to expect the NHS to put patients first
SIR – Sir Jim Mackey, the new NHS boss (The Saturday Interview, June 28), states that the service is deaf to criticism, has wasted a lot of money and sees patients as an inconvenience. The general public has known all this for far too long. One truly hopes that Sir Jim's insight will bring about some real changes, and that he will have the strength to see them through. Peter Rosie Ringwood, Hampshire SIR – Sir Jim Mackey says 'it feels like we've built mechanisms to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience'. I do find that, when I am able to see a doctor, I tend to start the conversation with the words: 'I am sorry to bother you, but …' If I were receiving any other service for which I was paying (as we do for the NHS through our taxes), it would never occur to me to say that. Felicity Guille London SW6 SIR – Sir Jim Mackey acknowledges the failure of the NHS and hopes that this bureaucratic Titanic might avoid its fatal iceberg. He identifies the walls erected by the NHS to obstruct access – not least the high one in front of primary care, which is the point of first contact for patients who choose not to abuse A&E departments. Large general practices, often the result of mergers, should create a daily, open-access morning clinic for patients who perceive their problem to be urgent; after receiving a ticket, they would be seen in order. Each GP would take turns to run the clinic. The early weeks would overwhelm, but demand would start to settle down. Some patients, after waiting for several hours, would realise their problem was not urgent, and opt for an arranged appointment. Remote consultations can never compete with the doctor-patient chemistry in the consultation room. Dr Adrian Crisp Weston Colville, Cambridgeshire SIR – Your Leading Article (' Reform the NHS, not our shopping baskets ', June 29) discusses Labour's plan to introduce yet more heavy-handed measures. Forcing shops to promote fruit and vegetables will not address the causes of obesity. Better education, for instance, could genuinely help to combat it, but piling more regulations on to shops will only push prices higher – something no one wants. Charlie Temple Billericay, Essex SIR – The plan for cutting the calorie content of the average shopping basket is a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough. I suggest recruiting food police to stand at checkouts and fine us £5 for each non-government-approved item in our trolleys – reduced to £2.50 if we return the item to the shelves. Fines for bottles or cans of alcoholic drinks would, naturally, be much higher. Max Sawyer Stamford, Lincolnshire
