UPDATE: Nine-year-old Woodlands resident earns three medals at Transplant Games of America

UPDATE: Last week, Kian Shah-Ackroyd participated in the Transplant Games of America in Houston. According to his mother Nishma Shah, 3,000 athletes, all with transplants, competed in the games.

Kian participated in various events and took home three medals: two gold and one silver.



"We are so proud of him," said Shah. "The reason I love the games is that children who feel different are 'at home' here. This little boy in a wheelchair got a standing ovation when he did his race. Its not about winning but the joy on these kids' faces! We are blessed to be involved in the games."



Since 2012, the Transplant Games of America have been held in Houston, Texas. In that span of two years, 5.5 million people in Texas alone registered to be an organ donor, impacting people like Kian all over the world.



THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Kian Shah-Ackroyd is nine years old and lives in The Woodlands with his parents, David Ackroyd and Nishma Shah, and younger sister, Sami. The family is originally from The United Kingdom, but they moved to The Woodlands less than a year ago. Kian is full of life, loves playing with his friends, and cares greatly for others, but in fact, when he was just a baby, doctors weren’t even sure if Kian would live to see his first birthday. Now, nine years later, The Shah-Ackroyd family is doing all they can to help raise awareness for Childhood Liver Disease and organ donation. Organ donation saved their son’s life, and now they want to help save others.

On March 28, 2005, Kian was born in The United Kingdom, and just a few weeks later, he was diagnosed with Childhood Liver Disease. At only five weeks of age, he underwent his first operation, but the procedure failed, so Kian was put on the transplant list when he was just six months old. The doctor warned his parents that if Kian didn’t receive a liver transplant by the time he was one, the chances of him surviving were very unlikely.

“It was the worst time in my life,” said Nishma Shah, Kian’s mother.

Thankfully, in January 2006, just a few months before his first birthday, Kian received a successful liver transplant.

“We were ecstatic that he was able to get a liver, but at the same time, while we were at the hospital, three other children died because they were on the waiting list,” said Shah. “It is hard to celebrate when you see that.”

Ever since, Shah has been raising awareness for Childhood Liver Disease and organ donation.

This summer, July 11-15, Kian will be participating in the 2014 Transplant Games of America that will take place in Houston. The annual event allows transplant recipients like Kian to compete in different athletic and non-athletic competitions, while also helping raise awareness for the critical need of donors. Each year, living donors, donor families, transplant recipients, and supporters are invited. Ever since he was five, Kian has attended the English Transplant Games and competes in the running and triple jump events, but this will be his first time to compete in The United States.

Although Kian fits in very well with his friends and classmates, it is sometimes hard for him since he can’t play contact sports like all of the other children. However, at The Games, Kian is around others who have also had transplants. Shah recalls the first time Kian went to the Transplant Games and how much it helped him.

“He didn’t want to go,” said Shah. “As soon as we got there, all of these kids started showing him the scars on their stomachs from surgery, and he was a different child. Kian felt so much better once he was around other children that knew what he goes through everyday.”

Kian has even participated in the Winter World Transplant Games in Switzerland. He and 50 other children from all over the world were taught how to ski in one week, and then they competed on the last day. Kian was the youngest to compete, and he came in 9th place.

“He made such good friends that he is still in contact with,” said Shah. They all just felt at home. It was amazing.”

Today, Kian is a caring and thoughtful nine-year-old. He knows what all he and his family have gone through, and he always keeps his donor’s family in mind. In fact, on the tenth anniversary of his liver transplant, Kian plans on sending his medal he received in Switzerland to the family who lost their child.

"It was his idea," said Shah. “They will never know what all it did to us. It saved our child."

To learn more about the Transplant Games of America, visit the website below.