Three GOSH competitors aim for gold at World Transplant Games

Three sporty youngsters are competing at the World Transplant Games in Durban, South Africa, this week after receiving organ transplants at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Jack Booth, 17, and Flora King, 15, who are both kidney transplant recipients, and keen swimmer Rhys Bonnell, 11, who had a heart transplant at GOSH, will form part of the British youth squad at the Games after being selected to compete at international level.

This week’s event will mark the third World Transplant Games for Jack, from Romford, Essex, and the talented badminton player has had the honour of being named captain of the entire British youth team this year.

Jack is a regular patient at GOSH. He was born with congenital nephrotic syndrome and was first seen at the hospital when he was just two weeks old. By the age of 18 months, both his kidneys had been removed and he was on peritoneal dialysis for two-and-a-half years. He received his donated kidney the day before his fourth birthday. In recent years, Jack has gone on to achieve remarkable success in competitive sport both at home and abroad. At his third international event, Jack will focus on winning his fourth gold medal in the badminton singles and doubles, a sport he has dominated at home since his first British Transplant Games victory in 2007.

Jack’s dad, Ian Booth, said: “Jack was thrilled when the organisers made him junior team captain. However, he also accepts that his own hard work and dedication has paid off with fantastic wins and some unforgettable experiences. He has made lifelong friends and continues to be an inspiration to all those who he meets. Despite all this, Jack remains very grounded and immensely humble.”

Meanwhile, tennis ace Flora King says she will draw inspiration from her hero Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory as she gears up to compete in her first World Transplant Games.

Flora, who lives in Granborough, Buckinghamshire, had a kidney transplant from her father at age 12 after being diagnosed with kidney failure. The former county hockey player began to feel ill in 2009, experiencing extreme fatigue and sickness, and a biopsy of her kidneys showed they were working only at around a 20 per cent rate of efficiency.

Flora was then rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where doctors explained she would need a kidney transplant within the next two years to survive. Luckily, Flora’s father David proved to be a suitable match, and he donated one of his kidneys to her in 2010.

Three years later, Flora has made a remarkable recovery and is back enjoying competitive sports. She picked up three gold medals in last year’s National Transplant Games in Medway, Kent – in the tennis, ball throw and long jump events – and will now focus on her favourite sport of tennis at the World Games.

In addition to the sporting challenges in store for Flora, the teenager also hopes the event will give hope to other young people who are either waiting for, or recovering from, an organ transplant.

“I’ve always been really sporty and it was difficult to know, when I became ill, whether I’d ever be able to enjoy running and jumping and being active again, after the operation,” Flora recalls. “I hope the Games will show other young people just how much is possible once you’ve had a successful transplant and are feeling better. I love the way I feel now – I’m full of energy and hoping for a gold medal.”