Huddersfield Town

 

Following on from the success of the previous two Organ Donation drives at home games against Oldham Athletic and Bolton Wanderers, the Club used Friday's fixture against the Tangerines to encourage supporters to sign up to the organ donation register.

There are currently more than 10,000 people across the UK who need an organ transplant. On average, three people a day die before they get a transplant simply because there are not enough organs available.

  

For the first time, the Blood Service also joined the ‘Give and Let Live’ campaign; they joined the Club’s ‘Town Family’ in handing out helpful information to supporters about donations. 

Town's players also warmed-up in special 'Give and Let Live' t-shirts ahead of the 7.45pm kick-off, whilst several pledged their support for organ donation in the match day magazine, Give Us An H.

During the half-time interval, Town’s match day announcer talked to three special guests who had been directly affected by organ donation. 

Brothers James and Mark Brown from Lindley have both undergone kidney transplants - Mark in 1994 after being diagnosed with the hereditary Alports syndrome as a young man, and James in 2003.

 

Both competed in this year’s Westfield Health British Transplant Games, 35 year old James in the 100 meters and archery, and 46 year old Mark in the archery, bowls, darts and javelin. 

Also on the pitch was brave Sophie Edwards, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in February 2008 at the age of seven. She made a recovery thanks to a bone marrow transplant. 

For more information on the special guests, click HERE.

The Club has received lots of positive feedback from the campaign. Transplantee Paul Taylor commented on Twitter:

Huddersfield Town has also received lots of correspondence by email, such as one from Adrian Ward – a 42 year-old born with a complex heart condition who received a heart transplant in September 2009. He described his donors as ‘his heroes’.