Going for gold with a kidney transplant

Going for gold with a kidney transplant

Darren Creed was shocked to learn that he had a life-threatening kidney disorder that would require a transplant years later. The college lecturer and athlete shares his story with This Is MedTech during European Week of Sport.

"I had no symptoms at all. I'd signed up for a personal training session at work that required a medical check before starting," he explains. "It revealed that I had high blood pressure, so I went to the doctor for treatment. After several months they still couldn't get my blood pressure under control, so I went for a scan. That's when I was diagnosed with a hereditary condition called polycystic kidney disease, or PKD."

PKD causes the growth of numerous fluid-filled cysts in a person's kidneys. This can significantly enlarge the kidneys and impair their function over time, leading to serious health complications. Medical technologies like the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that Darren had can help doctors see the number and size of cysts and determine what treatment is needed.

"I'm quite a positive person, so I carried on with my everyday life," says Darren, who notes that he's always been quite sporty. "For the first few years, I had regular blood tests to monitor my kidney function. It began to decline so I started taking medication to slow the progression of the disease."

When his kidney function hit the 20% mark nine years after his diagnosis, Darren faced either a transplant or dialysis, a treatment that uses medical technologies to remove excess water and waste from the blood - the job that functioning kidneys normally do. "I did everything possible to avoid having dialysis and started gathering a list of potential kidney donors from family and friends," he recalls. His wife Donna was at the top of that list. After a year of extensively testing her suitability as a donor, doctors determined that she was a perfect match.

But when the time came for the transplant, Darren wasn't well enough to undergo the surgery. He had dialysis for six weeks before he was able to receive his new kidney. "I had to get dialysis three times a week for four hours each time. It was a tough time, but a life-saving tough time," he reflects.

After the transplant, Darren recovered quickly and he was back home six days later. "It's hard to explain, but I felt better almost instantly," he notes. He jumped back into sport as soon as he could. Just over a year later in August 2024, he won two gold medals (swimming) and a bronze (volleyball) in the British Transplant Games, where transplant recipients compete in over 25 different sports to raise awareness of organ donation.

"Next summer, I'm competing in the British games again, and after that, I'm off to the World Transplant Games," he comments. "You have to embrace every opportunity you're given now."

Darren is grateful for all the medical technology that's made his journey possible, from that first MRI scan to the technologies that supported him before and during his transplant. "Medical science is incredible and without it, I wouldn't be talking to you right now," he says. That's why he and Donna are passionate about raising money for the PKD Charity, which funds medical research and supports people with PKD.