Liver Transplant Marathon Runner

A man from Reading's back to running marathons after having a liver transplant.

Ian Harding told Heart his liver was shared between two people.

Ian had suffered with rare liver disease PSE for a number of years. But in 2006 he became seriously ill with it and was put on an urgent transplant list.

ten days later, he was given a liver transplant. But as there are so few organs donated, he had to share his liver with a young girl in the West Country.

The liver is the only organ that can do this as it regenerates when it's split. So both Ian and the girl, who was 2 at the time, could benefit from the same liver.

He says it changed his life and since then has run marathons and taken part in the British Transplant Games.

Key Facts About Organ Transplants:

· More than 10,000 people currently need an organ transplant in the UK

· 1000 a year - 3 a day - will die before an organ becomes available

·  One donor can help up to nine different people.

· 96% of the public say they would take an organ if they needed one. But only 27% of the public are on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

· The NHS Organ Donor Register is a confidential, computerised database used by authorised NHS staff on a 24-hour basis to establish whether a person wishes to donate their organs.

Almost 400 people have now signed up to be an organ donor in Reading, and here's how you can get involved:

Register now at www.organdonation.nhs.uk/roadshow or call 0300 123 23 23