Transplant survivor starts 200-mile ride for Great Ormond St

A teenage boy who had a double lung transplant last year is cycling to Paris to raise money for the hospital that saved his life.

Matthew Stein and two friends, David Freeman and James Thorpe, all 16, set off from Tower Bridge today on a three-man bicycle.

The boys hope the 200 mile, three-day ride will raise £7,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Two years ago a pneumonia-type virus damaged Matthew's lungs, leaving him in intensive care. He could not walk more than a few metres and lost a third of his body weight. Doctors said his only hope was a transplant. Although there is a severe shortage of child organs for transplant, Matthew's life was saved when a suitable donor was found. He had a seven-hour operation in March last year.

Matthew, of Bournemouth, said: "An overwhelming desire to live, my family's never-ending support and the hope a donor would be found in time, was all that kept me going."

The ride coincides with National Transplant Week and the launch of thetxspace.com, a site for transplant patients.