IT MAY have been a summer of medals and sporting personal bests, but for Andy Strachan just getting on the track has been a private victory.
Just 18 months ago, the 56-year-old was on a transplant-waiting list, struggling with a debilitating condition that had left him a jaundiced-riddled shell of his former sporty self.
Now, with a new liver, given to him in December 2010, he has returned home triumphant from the Westfield British Transplant Games, a four-day competition held this year in Medway, Kent, having won a clutch of silver and bronze medals.
Before the transplant, severe lethargy was becoming a big problem for Andy, who lives with wife Sue in St Charles Road, Brentwood. Running was out of the question.
But along with a silver in the 5k walk, he also won bronzes in archery, the 400 metres, 800 metres and 5k run, which he completed in an impressive 28 minutes.
Andy, a project manager with Glaxo SmithKline, said: "There is no doubt that I am quite a bit fitter than I was before the operation. I have used the Games, and my transplant, as a driver to get fit.
"And even though all the competitors have all received some kind of organ, that does not hold you back. Some of the guys there were really fit.
"The guy who won the 5k went round in 18 minutes. That's going some."
And as a keen rugby player - he returned to play hooker with Old Brentwood 3rds this season – his new-found lease of life is helping him round the pitch.
The principles that gave birth to the Paralympics Games are true of the long-term health benefits among transplant patients.
In just the same way that Sir Ludwig Guttmann was able to transform the lives of patients at Stoke Mandeville by introducing them to sport, the Transplant Games, founded in 1978, aim to encourage patients to regain fitness and raise awareness of the value of a donation.
He said: "It's very important that we keep fit. I was never a great runner before, but now I am training for the Royal Parks Half Marathon on October 7.
Andy, originally from Hull, began to suffer from liver problems as a young man and, aged just 22, he was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a disease which restricts the bile ducts, which then become blocked and infected.
Fortunately in Andy's case, the disease never caused him any problems, until he fell ill in 2009.
Andy competed as a member of the Kings College Hospital Transplant Team at the Games, which this year saw more than 500 athletes, aged between two and 82, competing in 14 sports.
The Games are also intended to encourage people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register and discuss their wishes with their families.
There are currently more than 7,500 people in need of a transplant, but only 29 per cent of people are signed up to the register.
Lynne Holt, of Transplant Sport UK, said: "The 2012 Westfield Health British Transplant Games were a fantastic success in what has been a year of incredible sporting action.
"All of the athletes' stories are truly inspirational and everyone who participated in the Games should be proud of what they have achieved.
"The Games are vitally important, as they raise awareness of the NHS Organ Donor Register and the difference becoming a donor can make."
To join the NHS Organ Donor Register, call 0300 1232323, text SAVE to 84118 or visit www.organ donation.nhs.uk
