British Transplant Games 2009 - the Gift of Life
Have you ever been "sent to Coventry"? Being
rejected and isolated is not a pleasant experience. BUT,
supposing you choose to go to Coventry really, not
figuratively, and supposing you go for a particular purpose -
to celebrate life - that is a very different story. Here is a
little capsule of such a story as lived from 31th July to 2 August
2009 by two Daughters of Charity of the British Province.
‘The greatest gift, the GIFT OF LIFE’. This
was the slogan of the 600 or so competitors, all of them
‘transplantees’, who took part in the 32nd British Transplant Games
at the University of Warwick, Coventry. The competitors, aged
3 to 78 years have all had transplantation surgery of one kind or
another (heart, lungs, kidney, liver etc), thanks to the generosity
of so many people who donated organs in order that others might
live. Many thousands of people in the Coventry area signed on
to the Organ Donor Register as a result of the Games.
The list of Games events: golf, tennis, squash,
canoeing, archery, track and field events, swimming, walking,
mini-marathon etc etc., showed how real that ‘gift of new life’ was
for those who took part. The level of ability ranged from beginners
to very experienced athletes, all of whom were assigned to
categories according to age, with medals (gold, silver, bronze)
allocated in each group.
Many participants were accompanied by family
members and ‘supporters’. It was particularly moving to meet
members of the ‘donor families’, whose loved ones had died and, by
donating their organs, were able to prolong the lives of others,
complete strangers for the most part.
In spite of the large numbers, it was like one big happy
family, where teams from the various ‘transplant units’ throughout
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, mingled with one
another, shared 'life stories', renewed old friendships and made new
ones ... a truly life-giving experience.
Now why were Sisters Esther and Maureen, Daughters of Charity, part of all this? First of all,
celebrating the gift of life is not only the motto of the Transplant
Games, but also an important element in our own lives.
This is true in a special way for Sister Esther whose liver
transplant in 2006 truly gave her new life.
Gratitude is therefore a ‘constant’ in her life, something to
celebrate each day! Sister Maureen volunteered to attend as
Esther’s ‘supporter’.
The second purpose of the Transplant Games is to encourage organ
donation. True, many thousands of people carry a donor card or
are on the Organ Donor Register, but so many more donors are needed,
as many people in Britain are on waiting lists for transplants but
cannot have them for want of sufficient suitable organs; as a result
many of these people die each year. Would you like to think
about being an organ donor, and so help to give new life to others?
For more information, visit
the
NHS organ donor website
For your wonderful gift of life, Lord, we thank
you. For the selfless
generosity of organ donors, Lord, we thank you.