2026 Westfield Health British Transplant Games: Sheffield Hallam University student Rian Snell to Compete

Sheffield is the setting for the 2026 British Transplant Games, and as we build up to the event taking place in August, we are meeting one of the athletes competing for gold.

Rian Snell was just three and a half years old when he was faced with a heartbreaking situation of life or death. Having been born with acute renal failure, his health deteriorated, and he was found in a race against time to find a matching kidney donor.

In a statistic that is heart-rending to relay, the search for organ donors is at a record high in the UK with more than 8000 people in the UK in need of life-saving organs - according to NHS Blood and Transplant.

At just three and a half years old Rian was one of the people on this list, but it turned out that the miracle was right in front of him. His Mum, Karen was a match.

He said: “It has brought us incredibly close. I have such a strong bond with her because of what happened. She gave me her kidney and it’s given me a second chance of life.”

At 21-years-old, Rian has taken part in every British Transplant Games since 2009, which was just a few months after his operation. He is living proof of why saying yes to organ donation is powerful.

Last year, Rian secured a hat-trick at the World Transplant Games in Germany where he won gold in the long jump and relay and bronze in the 100m, which are just three of many honours over his career.

As a second-year Sport and Exercise Science student at Sheffield Hallam University, he now has his sights set on success at the games coming up in the City of Steel.

But for him and the other 1000 transplant recipients who take part, the competition is about so much more than just the medals. He reflected: “The Games are a unique opportunity to share experiences with other people who have overcome life and death adversity.

“It’s an open place where you don’t feel judged by anyone and a chance for us to come together like one big family.

““Having people you can relate to and to be able to express what you’ve experienced is so important and powerful. It helps you to build as a person.”

The 2026 Westfield Health British Transplant Games will take place between 6 and 9 August, where over 2,500 participants (including organ donors and their families) are expected to compete across 26 sports.