Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Donation is vital gift
Marie Grant is hoping that bringing the Transplant Games to North Lanarkshire will help raise public awareness of the importance of organ donation.
The Whinhall woman, 49, received a donor kidney in August 2014, after spending two years on dialysis due to renal failure.
First diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease aged just 19, she told how the condition then caused her to suffer two brain haemorrhages nearly a decade later.
Marie said:“I had a brain haemorrhage when I was 27, and during my second brain operation, I had a stroke. Renal failure then meant I was on dialysis for two years – then I got the call for a kidney transplant.”
She had her transplant operation at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, and recalled how she was quickly “sitting up”the next morning.
“It makes a big difference not having to go to hospital every other day, and quality of life is better because you’re not dependent on a machine to keep you alive.”
Marie added:“I was quite fortunate, as I only had two years on dialysis – many people spend longer or can’t get a transplant.
“I was fortunate that I didn’t spend so long on dialysis because of the goodness of someone. It’s something I think about every day, and I think about my donor every day.”
Having initially volunteered to get involved in the Transplant Games for the first time as the Lanarkshire team’s assistant manager, Marie has since decided to register for the ten-pin bowling and darts events.
She said:“It’s my first time doing any sports since my teenage years; I did a lot when I was younger but had to stop because of my health, and these events are a gentle way back into it and maybe picking things back up.
“I hope having the Games here will boost a lot of people’s confidence to take up a sport or hobby they couldn’t do before.
“Hosting the event is good for awareness of organ donation – it makes a big impact to get it out there as it’s much needed.”