World Transplant Winter Games: Kidney donor mum and son compete

Alex, who will compete in events including the giant slalom, started skiing when he was four, just one year after his transplant.

Even being able to take to the slopes at all was more than parents Julie and Howard could have imagined following his birth.

At three days old he was transferred to Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, where they have a specialist kidney unit.

“There were moments when we would hope that Alex would be OK, and all the treatments would be fine,” said Julie, 47.

“Other times the enormity of what lay ahead would hit us and we were completely floored by the thought of it all.”

The first few years involved infusion therapy, and when his kidneys failed, he had to have regular dialysis.

He would need a transplant to live a normal life, and after testing, it was found that his parents were matches.

However, he had to wait until he was tall enough to accept an adult organ.