Liver transplant put Richard back on track

Twenty years ago Richard Smith was given just 48 to 72 hours to live. He had fallen into a coma caused by acute liver failure and urgently needed a liver transplant.

Today he is the proud father of two teenage children – sixteen-year-old Charlie, a table tennis player and keen cyclist, and 14-year-old Grace who plays football for Wolves and football and cricket for Shropshire.

They are following closely in his footsteps as Richard, who lives in Bridgnorth, is one of Shropshire's sporting heroes.

In 2011 he was British, European and World cycling champion in the World Transplant Games and the fastest transplant cyclist in the world – a record he still holds.

He says none of the above would have been possible without the transplant and the brave decision made two decades ago by his donor's family which saved his life.

Richard was just 26 when he was rushed to hospital suffering from liver failure, the cause of which is still unknown, on a Friday night in February 1993.

"My father was told I had probably 42 to 78 hours to live without a transplant."

By the Sunday night, a donor had been found and within two weeks, Richard was out of hospital.

"I was quickly ill and very quickly better," he says.

He returned to work as a chartered surveyor in the April – just seven weeks after his transplant – and he started writing a book – Recycled. He also got married and had his two children.

Richard, 45, also started his love affair with cycling – the sport that would help his recovery and which would catapult him to sporting success.

"I could not run and I was too scared to go to a swimming pool!," he said. "But I just knew I needed to get fit again."

Cycling, it was. "I just loved it and still do," he added.

His remarkable journey to the top of his sport started when he spotted an advert for the World Transplant Games.

When he found out it included cycle racing, he joined Wrekinsport cycling club in Telford and it led to his first road race for Great Britain in the World Transplant Games in 1999 – and his first medal.

His success continued and in 2011 Richard became British, European and World champion. He capped it all by being crowned sportsperson of the year by Energize for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

But it is his children, Richard says, who are his greatest achievement.

At the age of 11, Charlie, who attends King Edward's College in Stourbridge, was selected to play table tennis for the county under 15s. "It was a very proud moment," says Richard.

He has since taken up his father's passion for cycling, joining the Wolverhampton Wheelers.

Grace, who attends Oldbury Wells School in Bridgnorth, has excelled at cricket and football.

She plays football for Wolverhampton Wanderers and has captained Shropshire's Under 13 girl's football and cricket teams.

In 2011, she was named the best female cricketer in Shropshire.

He said: "I get a huge amount of satisfaction and pride out of what they do. I know that my donor family do too. They have taken a huge interest in them. They have been extremely supportive."

As well as training, supporting his children and working, Richard, who lives with his partner Helen, also devotes time to raising awareness of the Organ Donor Register.

"I am passionate about it. It is all about raising awareness and getting people to sign up.

"If a few more people sign up, a few more lives will be saved," he said.

He has just finished taking part in the From the Heart Campaign, a national campaign highlighting the importance of joining the register and the difference it makes.

As a result of the campaign 130,000 people signed up to the register in three days – normally 2,000 people sign up a week.

"You have to confront your own mortality before you do it. But it is essential that your family knows your wishes," he said.

So what next? Just the small matter of the world games in South Africa.

"I just feel really lucky," says Richard.