World Cup Glory!

An organ transplant recipient from Dilton Marsh has returned home as a World Cup winner after helping England triumph in the Transplant Football World Cup in Germany.

Ryan Child, 36, who received a kidney transplant in 2022, was part of an England team made up of transplant recipients from across the UK.

England began the tournament with victories over Romania, Colombia and the Netherlands, alongside a narrow defeat by Chile.

The team then progressed through the knockout stages with a quarter-final victory over Italy before overcoming Wales in a tense semi-final. England went on to beat Spain 5-1 in the final, to clinch the World Cup title.

“It is an incredible feeling to return home as a World Cup winner,” said Ryan. “After everything involved in my transplant journey, pulling on the England shirt and playing alongside this group of players in Germany was a privilege.

“Every match presented its own challenge, but we stuck together through to the final.”

The tournament, organised by the World Transplant Games Federation, brought together organ transplant recipients from around the world and was held in Frankfurt, Germany last month.

Ryan is an events manager for Westbury Town Council, and is involved in organising several popular local events, including Westbury Chilli Fest, the White Horse Soapbox Derby and the Heywood Literary Festival. 

His World Cup win follows a difficult battle with end-stage kidney disease. He was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy, also known as Berger’s disease, at the age of 29. 

His kidney function fell rapidly, from 73% to 30% in September 2020, before reaching just 13% by Christmas that year. 

 

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At the time, Ryan was working full-time, caring for his newborn daughter and managing a local football team. He underwent peritoneal dialysis at home, including four exchanges a day, before receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor. 

“When I was on dialysis, there were days I couldn’t even lift my newborn daughter, but football kept me going,” said Ryan. “Receiving a transplant gave me my life back, and to go from sitting hooked up to a machine to representing my country on the pitch is incredible.” 

Ryan said the team’s success belonged not only to the players but also to organ donors and their families.

“This success is shared with our donors and their families,” he said. “Without them, none of us would be on the pitch playing the game we love.

“I hope this achievement encourages people in Wiltshire to talk about organ donation and sign up to the register.

“It was incredible to be around a group of such inspiring players. It’s quite similar to a normal team, the standard is really good and a lot of players are from academies etc, but we all share that thing of being really ill and coming back from it to compete internationally. 

“For me personally the training prior to the tournament was quite hard as I kept getting bugs and not feeling well. But by the time I got there I was feeling better. Getting the tube through Frankfurt every morning was brilliant with the whole team. And I got Man of the Match against the Italians in the quarter-finals which was nice personally. The bonds we all have together will be there forever. We are really more like brothers than teammates now.”

To find out more about organ donation or to join the register, visit England Transplant Sport Football on facebook or Instagram, or for further information, contact Ryan at info@captainevents.co.uk