LESS than two years after receiving a new heart, Perry Jarvis is getting ready to take part in a major athletic event on Thursday.

The 54-year-old is heading to North Lanarkshire for the Westfield Health British Transplant Games.

Four days of archery, track and field, cycling, volleyball and a 5km walk await the Liden resident who spent months recovering from a heart transplant operation in October 2015.

He said: "I cannot run because my brain is no longer connected to my heart so it can't tell it to speed up, but since coming out of hospital I got a dog, took him for walks and built up my stamina.

"Three days after my transplant I attempted walking to the recovery ward but only managed to get half-way there, when I came out of hospital I tried to walk to the shops but had to walk over a bridge and couldn't do it, now I can walk for an hour without a break and go over that bridge."

"The games are all about taking part, having fun, and raising awareness of organ donation.

"It's very important and I would definitely advocate for other people to do it, you don't really take much interest in it until something like this happens to you."

Perry spent six months in total in two different hospitals waiting for a suitable heart and recovering from the operation, then returned to work a year after his operation.

He added: "My old heart was dying and they didn't know why. It took five hearts before I found the one that was right for me, it had to be the right size in the right blood group with the right cells, there were lots of different factors.

"They came like buses, you wait ages then two come at once.

"It was quite scary, you never know what's going to happen but I was one of the lucky 175 people each year who get a heart transplant."

The British Transplant Games exists to encourage those who have received a transplant to lead active and healthy lives while showcasing the benefits of transplantation. In the UK, more than 7,000 people are waiting for a life-saving transplant and three die each day waiting for it.

To register on the NHS Organ Donor Register, please telephone 0300 123 23 23, or go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk to register online.

To join the bone marrow donor register or for further information go to anthonynolan.org