Pro golfer who battled leukaemia twice will take part in British Transplant Games

Jonathan Thomson, 30, a professional golfer whose career was halted by a leukaemia relapse, is taking part in the British Transplant Games in Sheffield. Thomson was first diagnosed with leukaemia at age seven and treated, but in 2024 the disease returned in an even more aggressive form, requiring him to undergo treatment at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, including a stem cell transplant. After his treatment put the cancer into remission, he began the long recovery process, and now plans to compete at Hillsborough Golf Club alongside other transplant recipients to highlight the need for more stem cell and organ donors. Known as ‘Jigger’, Thomson’s childhood ambition to become a professional golfer was realised in 2016, when he turned professional and later qualified for The Open in 2021, making the cut with a memorable hole-in-one. After marrying in 2022 and welcoming daughter Susie in 2024, Thomson relapsed, experiencing fatigue and learning through blood tests that the leukaemia had returned. Thomson said: “It was crushing because 20 years on from having it as a child, I had sort of told myself that that side of things had passed. Our little girl was one, it was absolutely heartbreaking for me and my wife and the whole family. And of course, my career came to a grinding halt.” He was diagnosed with a rare form of mixed-phenotype leukaemia and began an intense treatment programme, including ten rounds of total body irradiation, before receiving a stem cell transplant from a German donor. He said: “I had to face it head on – there was no other choice. Whatever is thrown at you, you have to go with it. I am so grateful for it and at some point I would like the opportunity to meet them. It really is an incredible thing – it is effectively like donating blood and you can save somebody’s life.” Thomson is now aiming to rebuild his career and said the Games are an opportunity to promote transplantation. The British Transplant Games will take place in Sheffield from August 6 to 9.