Triathlete Diccon Driver from Grove Park to compete in his first race since starting dialysis

Diccon Driver, who is hooked up to dialysis eight hours a night, has been suffering from IgA Nephropathy, a condition where antibodies build up and damage the kidneys, since he was 23.

Now aged 36, Mr Driver says it is a disease that has got progressively worse over the years to the point where he requires a kidney transplant, which he hopes to have from his brother Mark next month (FEB).

He said: "I'm incredibly humbled.

"They call it a gift of life, and it really is. There's nothing more one person can give to another.

"It will give me my life back. I can function day to day but it's a struggle."

Describing his condition, Mr Driver said: "It's a slow degenerative disease. It makes doing physical activity a lot harder."

Mr Driver, of Five Oaks Mews, Grove Park, is in training for the Bromley 10k race, which takes place at Norman Park in Bromley tomorrow (JAN 15).

The member of the triathlon team Greenwich Tritons said: "When you have kidney disease the biggest worry is you end up on dialysis not able to do anything.

"I wanted to prove to myself that I can still do it, to see how far I can go. If I can do this then I'll try a half marathon, and keep going."

Before going on dialysis two months ago and with only 25 per cent kidney function, Mr Driver took part in an "iron man" triathlon in Nottingham in July, which consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a marathon, all completed in 13 hours 26 minutes.

He said: "It was very difficult. Doing it with kidney disease means it was very easy for me to get dehydrated. That was always going to be a big problem."

Mr Driver, a copywriter, is keen to get more people to sign up as organ donors.

He said: "I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a brother who is fit and healthy. There are a lot of people who have not got that option, who are sitting on a dialysis machine waiting."

Find out more about Greenwich Tritons at greenwichtritons.org.uk