Transplant Warrior Mitchell

Young renal patient Mitchell was one of 10 kids from Glasgow who competed at this year's British Transplant Games. Hear how he got on and how we support young transplant warriors like him.

In 2017, Mitchell was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome, a condition that causes the kidneys to leak large amounts of protein into the urine.

Mitchell was very unwell and spent much of his early years in hospital.

Unfortunately, he didn’t respond to any of the treatments and ended up having both kidneys removed and went on peritoneal dialysis.

In August 2019, he was given a kidney transplant from his Mum, Nikki. Unfortunately, the nephrotic syndrome returned to the transplanted kidney almost immediately.

He has received more treatments and plasma exchange since being transplanted and still attends regular check-ups at the renal clinic.

Your Support

'Mitchell has benefitted from so many charity-funded services during his time in hospital.'

'The Play Team are amazing and always make hospital visits easier for our family.'

'Mitchell used to go to Ward 1C three times a week and Jackie used to get him so many great crafts to do. Lots of them messy, which he loved!'

'Terri and Linda always used to come when he was getting bloods and they distracted him with their boxes of toys.'

'Lauren from 3C is wonderful and always helped to cheer himup too. He spent some birthdays in hospital and was always made to feel special.'

'We also really looked forward to the MediCinema nights. His favourite films he saw there were the Playmobil movie and Frozen 2.'

'The charity would also organise special visits from entertainers, like the Hulk and Spiderman on Superhero Day!'

'The Teddy Hospital is fabulous. We used to go and visit Jane regularly and she helped him prepare for many of his treatments and operations.'

'He loved playing with the dressing up doctor outfits and giving his toys injections and plasters. He used to be very scared of getting his plaster changed around his central line and with Jane’s help and advice, we were able to make this less frightening for him.'

NIKKI, MITCHELL'S MUM

'We also loved when the clown doctors came to visit and also Radio Lollipop!'

'All of these services made such a difference to our stays in hospital. We were always able to reassure Mitchell that we would visit Jane or see Lauren or that it would be the cinema night.'

Nikki, mitchell's mum

'He would know that although we would have to stay in hospital, there would always be fun things to do to make our stays easier.'

The British Transplant Games

The British Transplant Games take place in different host cities every Summer, and sees teams from hospitals across the UK come together to compete in a medley of sports.

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 appreciation for, and remember, donors and their families.

The host city for this year’s Games was Coventry. A group of ten patients from Glasgow travelled down with their families to compete in this year's games.

Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity was proud to support the event by providing t-shirts and water bottles for everyone. 

'Mitchell was able to take part in several events, including the obstacle course, table tennis, 50m sprint and tug of war.'

Nikki, mitchell's mum

'He also got to try many other sports and activities and loved playing with all his friends from hospital while they were away.'

'This event is wonderful for our family because we can meet other children and parents that really understand what we've been through.'

Nikki, mitchell's mum

'We're so grateful to the Renal Team and Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity for helping to make the trip possible.'