Specialist Gastro Nurse, Caroline Winkley, is pictured in Dresden, Germany, this week with her daughter Ava, who is competing in her third World Transplant Games after her first competition back in 2014.

Caroline said: “We have been working with Swim England behind the scenes about recognising transplant swimmers and they have agreed that transplant swimmers will be included in a new identification with a new membership system.

“This is a massive step forward and hopefully on the back of the Dresden Games it will showcase transplant swimming.

“The Games started yesterday, and Ava is swimming this coming Wednesday and Thursday in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke, in the 15-17 year old category."

Ava had a liver transplant in 2013 when she was just five years old in a nine-hour operation. At just seven months old she was diagnosed with ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency which means her body builds dangerous levels of ammonia that needed constant monitoring and a new liver was the only solution.

Held every two years, the Transplant Games are a celebration of people of all ages who have been given a second chance at life after receiving an organ donation.

Around 8,000 people are waiting for an organ donation.

Did you know you can register your donation preferences on the NHS App? Organ donation - NHS App help and support - NHS, or through the Organ Donation Website Register your decision - NHS Organ Donation

Register your decision today and you could be helping families like Caroline and Ava with a precious gift of life.