Swans show support for Organ Donation Week
9th September
The Swans welcomed a special guest to training to show their support for Organ Donation Week, which runs until September 11.
Kim Hodge, 48, from Swansea met the squad at their Fairwood training base where they donned special t-shirts as part of the NHS Blood and Transplant campaign - 'Turn an end into a beginning'.
Kim suffers from end stage Cystic Fibrosis and lung failure. Without a double lung transplant soon then Kim will lose her life within 10 months.
"I spend my days on various machines to help me breathe,'' explained Kim. "My only hope of survival is a double lung transplant.
"The clock is ticking for me, but I hope that by telling my story and supporting the campaign it will encourage and inspire people to give someone the chance of a new beginning by becoming an organ donor.
"I want to beg the public to sign up and discuss organ donation with their families, especially as the Swans have a lot of young supporters.''
Kim, an Ambassador for the national charity Live Life Give Life, added: "Help turn an end into a beginning by starting a conversation today. Register to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register and tell your relatives.
"It is vital that everyone tells those closest to them of their wishes on the subject of organ donation. This will make it easier for them to support their choices at the crucial moment. Too many families faced with the possibility of donating a relative's organs do not know what their loved ones wanted and find themselves having to make a decision on their behalf.''
A Swansea City spokesman said: "It was great to welcome Kim to the training ground.
"She was an instant hit with the players who were delighted to help her raise awareness of the organ donation campaign - a very important issue.
"More than anything, everyone hopes Kim finds a donor soon to start her on the road to a speedy recovery. She deserves it after all she has gone through.''
Since the 1960s, almost 80,000 transplant recipients have been given the chance of a new beginning, thanks to the kindness of over 30,000 people who donated their organs after their deaths.
Yet every day across the UK, around three people who could have benefited from a transplant die because there aren't enough organ donors. There are currently around 6,500 people on the transplant waiting list.
You can sign the organ donor register online at www.organdonation.nhs.uk or by phoning 0300 123 23 23. For further information please visit www.livelifegivelife.org.uk.
The NHS Organ Donor Register is a confidential database operated by NHSBT recording the names of individuals who wish to pass on the gift of life through organ donation after their death. To sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register please visit www.lltgl.org.uk/nhsbt or telephone 0300 1232323.
