The competitors 'gift of life'

The British Transplant Games' gift of life

20 minutes ago Share Save Galya Dimitrova BBC News Share Save

Lisa Wilson Lisa Wilson (left) and her daughter Pippa (right) connected with two of her son's organ recipients - Gordon (sat left) and Fatima (with the glasses), both of whom have been taking part in Transplant Games

Nearly 10 years ago, Lisa Wilson received a phone call that turned her world upside down. She was at home in Hornchurch, Essex, when her son's best friend Rob called to say Tom had been hurt during hockey training on 8 December 2015. 22-year-old Tom had suffered a severe brain haemorrhage and passed away, but his parents found out he was on the national organ donation register. On Thursday 12-year-old Fatima, who received part of his liver, is taking part in the British Transplant Games which begin in Oxford.

Family handout Tom Wilson was not supposed to train on the day of the tragedy but agreed to go on the pitch

Tom played hockey at Old Loughtonians Hockey Club but on the day of the tragedy, Tom was not supposed to actually train due to a slight injury on the shin. But he agreed to go on the pitch and be a passive defender. When his mother received the fateful call, she heard in the background somebody say "Is he still breathing?" "And at that point, my world turned upside down," she said. Another player had hit her son on the back of the head with a hockey stick as he was shooting. Mrs Wilson said the blow was so severe, "it dislodged the brain stem immediately".

Family handout Lisa Wilson says they had always been "a sporty family"

He was rushed to The Royal London Hospital but had suffered a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage. His father Graham then said: "There isn't anything anybody could do for Tom but there's something Tom can do for others - organ donation". Part of Tom's liver was given to a two-and-a-half-year-old girl, while his heart was flown to Newcastle for a sixty-year-old man, Gordon. The family was told that Tom "helped save and improve the lives of up to 50 people because of the organs and tissue donation". "From an awful tragedy at least we get some comfort from knowing that Tom went on to help others and give the most precious gift of all - the gift of life," Mrs Wilson said. They found out that organ families could write to recipients in a "very carefully monitored and managed programme". It was "an absolute joy" to receive two cards back - one from a mum reading "Thank you for saving my little girl's life" and the other which just said "Thank you from the bottom of my heart".

Richard Hall Mrs Wilson first stood by her son's organ recipients Gordon and Fatima during the 2022 edition of the games in Leeds. An artwork known as "Tom's Baton" is handed between host cities to symbolise "a donor handing something very precious to a recipient"

Mrs Wilson met Fatima, who received part of Tom's liver, and her mum Lubna Siddiqui, who live near London. "Little Fatima was able to tell me when we went down the slide in the park 'Be careful of my liver, you know it's very special'," Mrs Wilson remembered. Fatima had been diagnosed with sclerosing cholangitis, which involves the bile ducts in the liver becoming progressively inflamed and damaged over time. "It was having a huge impact on her body, so this is where it got to a life-threatening stage," Mrs Siddiqui said. "We were very lucky, because she was on the transplant list." She described the mix of emotions - "sorrow", "gratefulness" and "a bittersweet feeling" - once she found out the donor was a 22-year-old.

Lubna Siddiqui Mrs Siddiqui described the mixed feelings of "sorrow" and "gratefulness" when she found out the organ donor for her daughter Fatima was a 22-year-old

Fatima is one of more than 1,000 transplant recipients, living donors, and supporters coming together to compete in sporting events across Oxfordshire from Thursday to Saturday. She is competing in her third British Transplant Games, in the obstacle race and swimming. Gordon meanwhile has been selected to represent GB in table tennis at the world event in Dresden, Germany, on 17 August. "It gives people like Fatima, the chance to compete and to be a part of something so huge," Mrs Siddiqui said. "They get to be a part of something and then just the opportunity to meet other families that ... get what she's going through as well on a daily basis." Fatima's dream is to become either a doctor or a space engineer.

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