Golf his passion again after kidney transplant

Iaan Burden (44) slowly but surely regained strength and mobility after kidney failure in 2012.
So much so that he has qualified to be part of the national golf team that will compete in the World Transplant Games (WTG) held in Perth, Australia, in April.
He qualified for the WTG after attending the South African Transplant Games, run by the South African Transplant Sports Association (Satsa) in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in July.

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Burden, now a Pretoria native, matriculated from Hoërskool Lydenburg in 1996, and his family still lives here. During his school years, he was an avid sportsman and a first team rugby player. There was barely a sport Burden did not excel in.
After being diagnosed in 2012, he received his donor kidney in 2014. “My kidney failure resulted from a bilharzia larva. I grew up swimming in rivers and dams, so it is impossible to pinpoint when I was infected. My specialist said the larva attaches to your bladder and can stay there for years before affecting your kidneys. In the beginning, I had less than 3% kidney function.

“My dialysis was changed from peritoneal dialysis, after three months, to haemodialysis for two years. I attended a dialysis centre for four-hour sessions three times a week. My own two kidneys weren’t removed, but only the new donor kidney was functional after the transplant. After contracting septicaemia and a surgery, known as nephrectomy, was performed in November 2015, my own kidneys were removed during two separate operations and I am now fully functioning with one kidney,” said Burden.

A nephrostomy bag was attached in November 2018 and that caused further complications. His health struggles did not end there. In February 2019, he was submitted to intensive care for 58 days due to cystic fibrosis and complications.
“By the grace of God and after many prayers, I recovered and gained strength. After I was discharged from the hospital in April 2019, I had to get around with the assistance of a walking frame. When it was finally possible, I started playing golf again, to strengthen my overall stability. Thank you to Jan Marais of Satsa for your support. I cannot thank my wife, Ronelle, the medical teams from the Urological Hospital and the Jacaranda Hospital in Pretoria, and my close family and friends enough for their help and professional care. I would never have thought that I would ask for donations to make it possible to go to Australia – there are so many more deserving people. But my friends and family assured me I am just as deserving,” said Burden.

He became involved with Satsa because he realised he needed a new goal and purpose in his life.
Satsa will provide a Section 18A certificate towards any donation for tax purposes. Donations will be deposited directly into the Satsa bank account.
For more information and the banking details, contact Burden on 082 871 6341 or email iaan.burden@gmail.com.

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