The Mayor of Dudley met Martin Searle, a British Transplant Games former gold medal winner, as the Birmingham Team retained the Transplant Sport Trophy for a second year.

The games have been running since 1978 and the Mayor invited Martin in to congratulate him and the wider team on their win, just ahead of the start of this year’s Organ Donation Week.

Martin has had two kidney transplants and actively promotes all aspects of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. He is the volunteer manager to the Birmingham Adult Transplant Sport Team, whose members have all had life changing and life-saving transplants. He’s also been involved with a host of fundraising events for organ donation, in particular for University Hospitals Birmingham Charity.

In July, as part of the Birmingham Adult Transplant Sport Team he took part in the Westfield Health British Transplant Games in Coventry. The team topped the medals table with 29 Gold, 20 Silver and 14 Bronze medals. The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Andrea Goddard, said:

"It was great to meet Martin and find out more about the Transplant Games. The Birmingham Team did so well to retain their champion’s trophy, they should be very proud of their achievements.

"More importantly, the games do an incredible job of informing people about the importance and value of organ donation. It saves lives and is something everyone should consider."

Martin added: "This was my 15th Games that I had taken part in and although I was carrying an injury which held me back from my top performance in my chosen events, I still had a great time seeing our team thrive.

"It was also great being able to meet new people at the Games and to see a representative from one of our team’s sponsors, Coventry-based Skyfarer Ltd, as well as from the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity.

"We transplant recipients are living proof that organ donation works. I encourage everyone to 'have that chat'. Your family won’t know how you feel about organ donation, unless you talk about it."

The Games are organised on behalf of Transplant Sport whose aim is to raise awareness of the need for organ donation, encourage transplant recipients to lead active lifestyles and show appreciation for, and remember, donors and their families. The Council House and Russell’s Hall Hospital will also be lit up pink for the week to show support for the campaign.

The NHS campaign is asking everyone to go pink for the week, whether that’s baking a pink cake, wearing pink socks, painting a pink unicorn or drinking a pink drink, and they’re encouraging people to share their pics on social media. People can use #organdonation and tag @nhsorgandonor.

In May 2020, the law around organ donation changed in England. All adults are now considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die, unless they record a decision not to donate, are in one of the excluded groups or have told their family that they don’t want to donate.

For more details on organ donation, visit organdonation.nhs.uk.