KIDNEY transplant patient Charlie Dyson has struck gold.

The 28-year-old from East Morton has won a gold medal in the British Transplant Games.

And the golfer's success means he will now take part in the world games, being held in Malaga, Spain, next year.

Mr Dyson said his life had been transformed thanks to his father, 56-year-old Chris, who donated a kidney.

"I had kidney problems from birth," he said.

"My first transplant was carried out in 1994 but in April, 2012, I began to be ill again.

"Fortunately I didn't have to wait long for a second transplant because my dad was found to be a 'near perfect' match and the operation was carried out in October that year.

"Dad and I were on our way back from a golfing trip in Portugal when I got the news that we were a match. It was fantastic.

"Understandably my mum, Denise, was a little nervous on the day of the transplant. She had to cope with both me and dad in surgery within hours of each other and was relieved when it was all over."

Now Charlie, who is under the care of the dedicated renal team at St Luke's Hospital in Bradford, is an ambassador for organ transplantation and is urging people to become donors.

"I don't think anyone realises how ill you actually feel until you've had a successful transplant and then you really are a completely different person," he said.

"You realise that up until then you were just meandering through life as opposed to living it to the full.

"I feel so strongly about organ donation.

"I would say to people, please sign-up to the NHS donor register. It costs nothing but the result is priceless, the gift of life – maybe even your own.

"My health and my success at the games are directly as a result of my kidney transplant and of my donor's sacrifice. The gift of an organ is the best present you can give."

Charlie will be competing globally for the third time – he has previously taken part in the World Transplant Games and Winter Games.

John Stoves, a consultant in nephrology at St Luke's, said both Charlie and his father were great ambassadors for kidney transplantation.

"Together they have made an invaluable contribution to the promotion of living donor transplantation – not just through sport but also through media work and their involvement in producing very informative educational materials for other patients in the Yorkshire region and beyond," he said.

"We are all extremely proud of them and wish Charlie further success in the World Transplant Games. I'll be happy to join a long list of reserve caddies!

"In West Yorkshire, more than 200 people are currently on the transplant waiting list.

"Many wait more than two years before receiving a transplant and some die before the opportunity arises.

"Living donation not only shortens waiting times for individuals, but by expanding the pool of transplant organs it also increases the opportunity for other listed patients to receive a deceased donor kidney."

For more information about organ donation visit organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or tweet @nhsorgandonor #sayidonate.