South Wales mum to carry handmade organs up mountains to raise awareness
A SOUTH wales knitting group is crafting hundreds of wool and felt kidneys as part of a heartfelt campaign to raise awareness of organ donation.
The initiative aims to create 281 handmade kidneys—one for every person currently on the transplant waiting list in Wales—with each symbolising a life in limbo.
The project has been organised by Carolyn Thomas, from Efail Isaf near Llantwit Fardre, and is inspired by her son Dan, 25, who is living with chronic kidney disease.
A race against time
Dan’s condition developed after he contracted meningitis in 2020. His kidney function has since declined dramatically, with a filtration rate of just 18—well below the healthy level of over 100 for someone his age.
Doctors have advised that he will need a transplant before dialysis becomes necessary, but a suitable donor has yet to be found.
His mother said the uncertainty has been devastating.
“Dan is the most amazing person—you wouldn’t know anything was wrong with him. But the reality is his kidney function is critically low, and we don’t know whether he’ll need a transplant in six months or a year,” she said.
“As his mum, feeling helpless is the hardest thing in the world.”
Taking the message to the mountains
In May, Carolyn and a team of family and friends will take the handmade kidneys on the National Three Peaks Challenge, climbing the highest mountains in Wales, England and Scotland.
Along the way, they will hand out the knitted kidneys to fellow walkers in a bid to spark conversations about organ donation.
The challenge follows a similar effort last year, when the group carried 180 litres of symbolic “blood” across the Welsh Three Peaks.
Carolyn said the visual impact of the kidneys is key to the campaign.
“Every single one of those kidneys represents a real person who is waiting—sometimes for months or years—for a chance to restart their life,” she said.
‘One’s Enough’ campaign launched
Alongside the mountain challenge, Carolyn has launched a new awareness campaign called One’s Enough, highlighting the fact that people can live full and healthy lives with just one kidney.
The campaign also aims to encourage more people to consider living donation, as well as to register their wishes and discuss them with loved ones.
“Not everyone realises you can donate a kidney and still live a completely normal life,” she said. “The more people who understand that, the more chance there is of finding those incredible donors.”
She also warned that, despite Wales’ opt-out system, families can still override a person’s decision if their wishes are not clearly communicated.
“Talking to your loved ones could be the difference between life and death for someone like Dan,” she added.
Community effort
The kidneys are being created by members of the Pontyclun Yarnmongers knitting group, with support from friends and family—including Dan’s grandmother.
A special knitting session is set to take place at Café 50 in Pontyclun on Thursday, March 25, offering an opportunity for the public—and media—to see the project in action.
For Carolyn and her family, the campaign is about turning a deeply personal struggle into something that could help others.
“We’ve had to do something,” she said. “Organ donation is the greatest gift someone can give—and we want as many people as possible to think about giving it.”
