An inspirational South Pembrokeshire sportsman is supporting a national charity that has spearheaded a successful campaign for the introduction of a new organ donation law in Wales.

Twenty-eight-year-old Adam Hughes, of Tenby, successfully underwent a kidney transplant in October last year.

He was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in 2013 following a high blood pressure reading at his doctors’ surgery.

For nearly two years, Adam, now a journalist with the Carmarthenshire Herald, was on 10 hours dialysis a night while on the kidney transplant list, and was expected to have to wait at least three years before getting his new start.

But last October, the Carew Football Club first team manager, had an early morning call to say a potentially suitable kidney was available and within hours, he underwent a successful transplant operation at the Transplant Unit at the UHW Cardiff.

Adam’s transplant meant he was given the greatest gift of all - his life back and as a thank you, Adam and his family and friends have become active fundraisers and supporters of the Kidney Wales Foundation.

They formed Team Hughes and through the generosity of the local community raised over £10,000 for Kidney Wales Foundation earning them a top award for fundraising from the charity before Adam’s transplant. Their fundraising has continued and through Adam’s father, John, the charity benefited from a staggering £2,000 raised at the recent Narberth and Whitland Rotary Club organised sellout X Factor classical hit maker Rhydian Roberts concert at Folly Farm.

On Tuesday of this week, Wales became the first country in the United Kingdom to introduce an ‘opt out’ system for organ donation which aims to increase the number of organs available for transplant.

Currently three people in Wales die every month waiting for a new organ and 60 per cent of organ donation last year did not derive from the organ donor register. The new law will increase organ donation by 25 per cent and will help change the lives of some of the 10,000 people currently on the waiting list.

To mark the occasion, the Kidney Wales Foundation held a celebration of the implementation of the new law in Wales dinner at City Hall, Cardiff, which Adam, his girlfriend Sabrina Revell, and his father John were invited to attend.

The glittering evening was hosted by weather presenter Sian Lloyd in the presence of the First Minister Carwyn Jones and Health Minister Mark Drakeford, with Welsh entertainer Max Boyce, who is a patron of Kidney Wales, leading a long list of celebrities.

He said afterwards: “This was a remarkable evening and a defining one for Wales as we change the law and culture on organ donation. It was great to meet so many supporters and patients, especially the Hughes family.”

Roy J. Thomas, CEO of Kidney Wales Foundation, said: “The Hughes family and friends are fine ambassadors for Kidney Wales and as patients, they know first-hand the family difficulties of dialysis. Their fundraising for others is selfless and allows us to carry out work for renal patients in Wales.”

Continued Adam: “It was an absolute privilege to be a part of such a wonderful and inspiring event.

“The work that the Kidney Wales Foundation has done in the last eight years is incredible, and to finally reach the landmark day where the revolutionary legislation was passed is a just a brilliant and historic occasion for Wales. It certainly makes you very proud to be Welsh.

“Listening to some of the inspirational people on stage, it was certainly an emotional night, but luckily the new law will increase donations by 25 per cent, which will help so many people who are currently waiting for a transplant.

“Having received a transplant myself, I know what a huge difference it makes to your quality of life; it really is ‘the gift of life’.

“It was a great shock to me when at 24 I was rushed to hospital with end-stage renal failure, and having had to go through 10 hours of dialysis daily, on top of a range of medications to get through the day, it certainly has a huge effect on your life.

“At 27, I received my transplant and I am now free from dialysis and living a normal life. The difference has been staggering as you forget how good it is just to be able to do simple things like go away for a weekend without having to worry about dialysis.

“The introduction of the new law in Wales is a brilliant stepping stone, but as organs are shared throughout the UK, I hope that England and Scotland will soon follow suit, and that waiting times can be slashed by a considerable margin.”

Added Adam: “It was also nice to meet celebrities like Max Boyce and Jamie Baulch, who are one-off individuals, it was even better when Max went to make my girlfriend Sabrina’s Cardiff half marathon sponsorship up from £390 to £400, but realised he only had a fiver left!

“The opportunity to meet the First Minister and be able to thank him for seeing that the legislation was passed was also one I will never forget.

“I urge people to go online and register their decision to ‘opt-in’ and help save up to eight lives when they die, which can turn what is a tragic time into one of optimism and hope.”

To register your decision to ‘opt-in,’ go to http://organdonationwales.org and follow the links on screen.