"Inspirational" Evelina VIPs triumph at British Transplant Games

The Evelina VIPs

The Evelina VIPs have triumphantly returned from the British Transplant Games with 59 medals and a trophy for the ‘Best Kids Kidney Team’.

30 VIPs, who have all had kidney transplants at Evelina London, travelled to Newcastle last week to compete in a range of sports against transplant patients from other children’s hospitals across the UK.

The British Transplant Games have been held every year since 1978. The event aims to demonstrate the benefits of transplantation by encouraging patients to regain fitness and increasing public awareness of the need for more people to join the NHS Organ Donation Register.

The Games have also received backing from many celebrities including Ant and Dec, former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer and TV presenter Jeremy Kyle, who attended the event in Newcastle.                                                                        

In total there were 110 people from Evelina London at the Games, including participants, proud parents, and hard working staff and volunteers.

Evelina VIP team managers, senior play specialist Cathy Gill, paediatric transplant nurse specialist Grainne Walsh, and pharmacy manager Pat Hayes, accompany the team to the Games each year along with their team of dedicated volunteers.

Paediatric transplant nurse specialist Grainne Walsh says: “When the Evelina London team were announced as the Best Kids Kidney Team at the closing ceremony the whole place erupted!

“The 2015 Games have been inspirational, amazing, emotional and celebratory. It was such a great event. On behalf of everyone at Evelina London I’d like to say well done to all our VIPs, and I’d like to thank the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Kidney Patients Association and the British Kidney Patients Association for their continued support.”