Harjinder ready to put new heart to test at Games
A Black Country man is looking forward to competition and friendship as he prepares for a unique Games.
Harjinder Dale from Wednesfield will be one of more than 1,000 athletes taking part in the British Transplant Games, which will be taking place in Coventry.
The event, which will take place between Thursday, July 27 and Sunday, July 30, are a celebration of people who have found a new lease of life after receiving organ transplants, with 25 different sports available for competitors to take part in.
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 appreciating for, and remember, donors and their families.
The 37-year-old Harjinder will be competing in basketball, badminton, tenpin bowling and the long jump during the Games, which come just six years after the event which changed his life.
He said: "It was more of a sudden heart failure, so the process was figuring out what the failure was, how bad it was and then figure out was needed for me.
"I was in New Cross at the time when I got ill and they were looking and seeing how bad it was with the heart and what was needed, then they got in touch with Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, who has the specialists there and that was where I had the transplant."
Harjinder said the whole experience had been a surreal one, but he was also pleased that he had to opportunity to compete at the Games, which he would be doing for the New Start Charity, which supported him and his family during the transplant, and meet other people.
He said: "It's still surreal when you think about what has gone on, but I'm happy to have the opportunity to do sports again, albeit not as much as I used to with games like football, but the Games are done to ensure they know what people can and can't do.
"I actually prefer that as I'm there for the social side and to see people who might be going through the same type of thing and the Games include people with kidney, heart and lung transplants, so it'll be good to get to know all the different people as well.
"I'm just grateful for everything I have after what was just such a bad time, as it was a rare version of the heart failure and there's every chance it could have been worse, so I'm just grateful and will always be grateful to the charity and to the people who supported me and my family."
To find out more about the British Transplant Games, go to britishtransplantgames.co.uk
To find out more about New Start, go to newstartcharity.org
