Mid Yorkshire Trust's organ donation team embark on 70-mile cycle challenge in honour of transplant recipients

The team embarked on Race for Recipients 2023 yesterday (September 19), starting from Pinderfields Hospital and following a challenging route through Wakefield and York, before finishing at St James University Hospital in Leeds.

The Race for Recipients 2023 challenge asked NHS staff to accumulate miles through sporting activities like cycling.

The Yorkshire team – which consists of ICU consultants, junior doctors, and organ donation committee members from across the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, York Teaching Hospital, and Hull University Teaching Hospital – are aspiring to be the first to reach the regional milestone of 50,000km, which represents the number of people living today with a transplant in the UK.

Helen Buglass, intensive care unit doctor and the lead for organ donation at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “Organ donation is a life-saving act that has the power to transform the lives of those in need.

"Being able to do our part in raising awareness for organ donation through the Race for Recipients challenge has been great.

“As a team, we are committed to raising awareness and increasing the number of registered donors, which is why we have taken on the 70-mile challenge.

"By pedalling these miles, we hope to inspire conversations about organ donation and make a positive impact on the lives of recipients and their families.”

To learn more about organ donation visit the NHS’s website at www.organdonation.nhs.uk