A woman who had a life-saving kidney transplant more than a decade ago is aiming to win gold as she represents Great Britain at the European Transplant Games.
Lesley Miller, from Maidenhead in Berkshire, is competing in the badminton tournament at this year’s event in the Netherlands.
The biannual games, featuring 15 different sports, aim to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.
Miller, who doctors believe experienced kidney damage as a baby, said she “could not believe” that she had been selected for the games.
She described how she had felt “absolutely dreadful” before undergoing a kidney transplant in December 2024.
“I was on dialysis, which did not suit me at all. It made me feel very ill and it purely kept me alive.
“At that point, I was in discussion with the hospital to withdraw from treatment because I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
She recalls having to sit her children down, who were then aged 15 and 12, to explain what was going on and “make sure they understood”.
“It was very hard – I had to stress to them that I would no longer be here.”
‘In disbelief’
Miller told BBC Radio Berkshire that when she was on the waiting list, the average wait for an organ was two years.
In the event, she was on the list one week short of two years.
She said: “Getting that call was a surprise – I was in disbelief, it was such an amazing thing.”
She explained her husband had wanted to donate his kidney to her, but he was not a match.
Instead, they joined a scheme which aimed to match different people who all needed a kidney.
She said: “I was matched with a man from Leeds, who had decided he wanted to donate a kidney to a stranger.
“My husband donated his kidney on the same day to another lady on the transplant list – it was really something amazing.”
She said that after the surgery she remembers thinking: “wow, is this how you’re supposed to feel? I’ve never felt this well”.
After her recovery she decided to play badminton, a sport she had enjoyed as a teenager.
“I saw a Facebook message on one of these groups saying someone had dropped out and they were looking for an extra person to play every week,” she added.
“So, I thought, I can do that. One of the ladies I regularly play with, her husband used to go to the Transplant Games.
“The more she told me, the more I thought: that’s something I want to do,” she said.
Last year, Lesley competed in the ladies’ doubles at the British Transplant Games and came away with a silver medal.
She added: “The tracksuit came through the post with the GB colours and I was so excited to get it.
“I think the postman got a fright because I opened the door and pounced on him.
“He ran off very quickly, I think he was worried I was going to hug him,” she joked.
Twenty-four countries are set to take part in the European Transplant Games in Arnhem on 21 June.
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