This year’s Transplant Games will be taking place in Newcastle Gateshead from 30^th July until 2^nd August and it would be great to see you there.

The 2014 games saw 2260 people attend the games of which 700 were competitors. More importantly one of the aims of the games is to raise awareness of the need for organ donation and during the four days of the games 23,860 people signed the Organ Donation Register

For the competitive among you there are medals and a league table but for most, it’s just about going along and having a good time.  In the weekends schedule there are sports such as fishing, cycling, darts, athletics, bowling, volleyball, football, basketball and squash. All the events are run in age groups.

To enter please click on the link below

https://www.gmsportal.co.uk/btg

Then complete the forms on the website for what sports you want to take part in. Don’t forget to also add on your gala dinner tickets. This will be a fantastic event on the Sunday night in the Sage Gateshead venue.

To support you New Start will pay for your registration cost, half of both your accommodation and gala dinner (competitors). We have secured some accommodation at the Ramada Encore.  If you wish to book rooms please download the  booking form below

.Booking form for the hotel

and email back to lyndaellis@newstartcharity.org

Once you have registered your entry don’t forget to download your medical form and get it completed on your next appointment at clinic.

Lorna Bradbury took part in the Windmill 10k in Lytham St Annes recently and raised £1000 for New Start. Her husband Andrew had a transplant in December 2013 so what a way to celebrate his first Anniversary.

New Start are pleased to announce they have purchased 2 more ECMO machines for use on the Cardio Thoracic Critical Care Unit. These machines are frequently used in helping our patients recover post transplant. Above can be seen with one of the new machines from left to right –  Nizar Yonan -Director of Transplantation and Trustee of New Start. Joe Higgins – a recent heart recipient and who was on ECMO post transplant for a few days, Pete Fawcett – ECMO co-ordinator and David Waters from Chalice who supply the machines.

Professor Yonan  said

“The “Centri-Mag” mechanical support devices have made a huge impact on improving our ability to manage the sickest heart and lung failure patients referred to our unit. By using those machines expertly, we can support the heart when it acutely fails, also in acute lung failure, the machine can drive the blood of the patient through an oxygenator that can support both the heart and the lungs or just the lungs through a therapy called ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation). By adopting this technology, we can keep patients alive until a long term treatment become available like a donor heart so the patient can have a heart transplant. Our experience with these devices has helped us keeping more than 60% alive and well long term, those patients would have certainly lost their lives with out the mechanical support

We are grateful to the New Start  charity for purchasing 2 machines to the benefit of patients referred to the transplant program at UHSM”

Great North Run

Congratulations to Joan Crossley Holmes, Lynn Crossley Russell,Ann Whittle and Steve O’Brien for competing in the Great North Run again and raising over £600 for New Start Charity. Thank you guys for your continued support.

A different way to see the South Coast

Congratulations to Graham Wood. He did a bespoke triathlon cycling, running and kayaking a section of the Devon Coast and raised over £600 for New Start. It seemed a good idea at the time when suggested by his son Callum. Unfortunately due to a knee injury Callum had to pull out at the last minute