A RUNNER with kidney disease has set her sights on her first Swindon Half Marathon despite the likelihood she will one day need a transplant.

Jasie Rai, 45, has only got one low-functioning kidney left but has set herself the colossal goal of completing the 13.1 miles on September 9.

The businesswoman has yet to run more than seven miles but wants to raise funds and awareness in aid of ‘non-directed’ donation, where a healthy living person comes to the aid of someone in need of a transplant.

Announcing her challenge on World Kidney Day (March 8), she plans to donate proceeds to the Give a Kidney – One’s Enough charity and Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Jasie said: “With my remaining kidney now only functioning at 17%, it is very likely I will need a kidney transplant in future. If I am lucky enough to receive one, this will be one of the greatest gifts I could receive. As someone who is more of a giver than a receiver this is hard to come to terms with and I want to use my negative health situation to do something positive and raise awareness of organ donation and raise money for two charities close to my heart.

“It’s my Monday running friends Sam, Vanessa, Rachel and Emma who have helped convince and motivate me to take on running the half marathon, which will be an enormous challenge – but one which I’m looking forward to.”

Jasie, from West Swindon, will take on the challenge during Organ Donation Week. Her usual annual fundraiser is ‘East Meets West’, an event backed by the local business community which she has organised for the past three years, but due to other commitments, she has decided to do something different in 2018.

Jasie, who works in sales and marketing, fits in work and training despite having already had one kidney removed. She has needed a pyeloplasty, a procedure to remove a blockage, on the remaining kidney and may eventually need a transplant. She enjoys running which she uses as her way to reassure herself that she is still fit and well. Having sought medical advice and been given the go-ahead to register, she feels that even if she ends up walking some of the way, completing the 13 miles will be a massive achievement for her.

Bob Wiggins of Give a Kidney, said: “We’re so grateful to Jasie for helping raise awareness of living kidney donation. There are currently around 5,000 people in the UK on the transplant waiting list and around 250 people die each year in need of a kidney. Meanwhile millions of us are walking around with two perfectly healthy kidneys and can lead a full and healthy life with only one. Almost 650 people in the UK have now donated a kidney to someone they do not know, alongside around 1,000 people each year who donate as living donors to a friend or family member, helping to transform many lives. It’s now a fairly common procedure and every transplant unit in the country has a living donation programme.”

Valerie Whistler, Partnerships Coordinator at Wiltshire Air Ambulance said: “We are absolutely delighted that Jasie has chosen to be a part of team Wiltshire Air Ambulance for the Swindon Half Marathon, she is an inspiration to us all. A half marathon is quite an undertaking and we are so proud that she is taking on that challenge in order to help raise the £3.25 million we need every year to keep our helicopter flying and saving lives. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Jasie for choosing to support Wiltshire Air Ambulance.”

*To support Jasie please visit https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/jasierai1.

*If you are interested in donating a kidney visit www.giveakidney.org