Heart transplant duo takes on sani2c

HISTORY will be made at this year’s KAP sani2c MTB Challenge as two heart transplant recipients join hundreds of cyclists in one of  South Africa’s most iconic stage races. 

Together, Billy Macleod, 56, and Pedro Basson, 20, will prove that with heart - literally and figuratively - no mountain is too high to climb.

The two form part of the four-member group called Team Change of Heart. Together with their experienced cycling partners Steph Bester, CEO of AllLife, and long-time cycling companion Guy Dudley, they’ll be riding to inspire.

Last year Macleod who is also a cancer survivor, became the first heart transplant recipient to enter the KAP sani2c, a 265 kilometre cycle challenge which takes place over three days from the Southern Drakensberg to Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.

The veteran cyclist and triathlete participated at all levels of sport for many years. Then in 2014 he fell ill and was eventually told that he only had two weeks to live. At the same time his cardiologist also discovered he had cancer. 

“I was tired and exhausted and just assumed I was overtraining.” Doctors discovered that he had heart problems, caused by sarcoidosis. Several complications later he received a heart transplant which changed his life. 

“I could never compete at the level where I competed before, but the fact that I can actually walk to any place is quite a big thing. “For me it's important to show people the success of a transplant.”

Macleod says people are often afraid to talk about transplant operations - but when they learn how life-saving they can be, their opinions quickly change. Macleod is excited about the race taking place from May 8 -10

“Worldwide, Pedro and I will be the first heart transplant team ever to do a stage race,” he said. “Nobody's done it before. Last year I was the first heart recipient to do a stage race.”

Their ambition doesn't stop there, Macleod says their next aim is to participate in the world transplant games in Germany in August. 

Since his successful heart transplant his burning desire is to meet his donor’s family. 

“I just so badly want to just tell them about all the successes and that if it wasn't for them, I'd never ever be here. They were special, and they still are because their legacy will live on through me.”

 However, he has found a unique way to honour his donor. “Because of all the races that I do, when I finish the race, I ask for a medal. So you normally get a medal but I ask for a second medal and then I go to the donor memorial site once a year and I put all my medals at my donor's memorial site.” 

Meanwhile, Basson who is a computer systems student at Stellenbosch University says he is excited and nervous to be taking part in the KAP sani2c. Before his heart transplant he was a fit and highly competitive tennis player, and ranked first at his school. Because of his track record he felt responsible to win all his tennis matches so that he could improve his team’s score. “And so, I just kept on playing, pushing my body to its limits” he said. Then at the age of 16 his health took a turn for the worse. A test for Covid-19 came back negative and he continued to push himself. After a school trip his condition worsened and when he slept for an entire day his mom knew that he needed to get medical help. What followed was three weeks in hospital, including the ICU.

“I went home for Christmas and three weeks later, everything just deteriorated too quickly because my heart was really weak, it couldn't give my body enough oxygen for the whole body.” 

Eventually he needed a heart transplant - it changed his life.  

“Young people don't usually have heart failure, you know. So for me, it was mostly because I exercised while being sick. They always tell you that when you have the flu or something like that, you shouldn't exercise because it could be bad for your heart, and I didn't take that into account,” he said. 

Basson and Macleod have the same cardiologist. When Macleod learnt about Basson’s story he reached out, and the two connected over their mutual health experiences.  

That's how their participation in the sani2c came about. 

Basson says one day he would love to write to his donor’s family to thank them for his gift of life and the wonderful things he has been able to do because of it. “Technically he is also doing the same things as I am because it is his heart.”

AllLife’s Bester, who was scheduled to ride with Macleod last year, had to withdraw after falling sick a day before the start of the KAP sani2c. “I can’t wait to finally be on the bike with them this year. Billy and Pedro are living proof that your story doesn’t end with a diagnosis,” he said. 

AllLife is using this race to raise awareness for Hero777, a non-profit foundation focused on increasing organ and tissue donor registrations in South Africa. The foundation is deeply personal to the AllLife family as they deal with so many people in need of transplants daily.