U.S. Transplant Games History

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History

The U.S. Transplant Games were first held in Texas in 1982 and attracted only a small number of participants. They were held several times throughout the 1980's, but the event was mainly regional in scope and participation dwindled. In 1990, the National Kidney Foundation, in partnership with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, took on the task of organizing the Games inIndianapolis, Indiana. Participation grew to 400 athletes and 600 supporters. The success of the Games and the message they engender began to spread to the entire transplant community.

The 1994 U.S. Transplant Games was held on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and drew more than 1,000 athletes, who participated as part of 52 teams. Special programs for children and educational symposia for recipients, families and friends were also held. In addition, a special tribute was paid to the over 4,000 families who donate their loved ones organs each year.

The 1996 Games were held on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and again were the largest gathering of transplant recipients in one place ever. In addition to the already established events of the Games, additional emphasis was placed on the team aspect of the Games--team golf and team bowling were added.

The 1998 Games, set for August 5-8 on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, continues to build on this event's rich history. The 1998 Games will also feature the 1998 National Donor Recognition Ceremony, a program for donor families, procurement professionals and living donors, as part of an expanded Opening Ceremonies. Competition in team volleyball and the 200 meter event in track and field will also be added.

The 2000 U.S. Transplant Games, held June 21-24 at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida was the largest Games to date with a total of 6,500 participants. Over 1700 athletes competed in 12 sports in conjunction with the 514 Donor Families who attended the Giving, Grieving, Growing Program.

Disney's Wide World of Sports was once again the location for the 2002 U.S. Transplant Games. For the first time, a Living Donor Recognition Ceremony was held to celebrate those who gave the most precious gift, of life. Total partcipants numbered 7,500 at the 2002 Games!

In July 2004, a record-breaking gathering of 6,000 people, 1,500 of whom were transplant athletes from all 50 states and five foreign countries converged in Minneapolis for the 2004 U.S. Transplant Games.

World Transplant Games

The World Transplant Games is an international sporting event held every two years under the auspices of the World Transplant Games Federation and is open to recipients of a currently functioning life-saving solid organ or tissue transplant. The mission of the World Transplant Games is to promote the importance of organ donation and the success of transplantation through the demonstration of athletic excellence in the area of sport and competition.

The first "Transplant Olympics," organized by British transplant surgeon Maurice Slapak, was held in Portsmouth, England in 1978. Approximately 100 kidney transplant recipients, representing over a dozen countries, gathered in Olympic fashion. In subsequent years, the Transplant Olympics were renamed the World Transplant Games and held in New York, Athens, Amsterdam, Singapore, Budapest, Vancouver and Manchester, each time increasing in size and visibility

The success of the World Games has served as the catalyst for the development of national games all over the world, including successful programs in Great Britain, Australia and France.

Team USA

The United States has been participating in the World Games since their inception in 1978 and has been organized by the National Kidney Foundation since 1992.

Team USA made its debut at the 1993 World Games in Vancouver with the largest team ever to compete. For the first time, Team USA won the most gold medals, overturning the British tradition of winning the medal count. The British won the title back at the X World Games in 1995 held in Manchester, England, with Team USA finishing a close second. The XI Games in 1997 held in Sydney, Australia, were the largest World Games ever held. Team USA sent the largest allowable team--150 competitors--to compete at many of the venues being readied for the upcoming 2000 Olympics.

September 4-13, 1999 saw fifty-seven transplant athletes from across the United States joined together as part of Team USA to compete in the XII World Transplant Games held in Budapest, Hungary. More than 1,000 transplant athletes hailing from 40 different countries competed in the Games' events, which included cycling, volleyball, swimming and track and field events.

The 13th World Games were held August 26th- September 1st, 2001, in Kobe, Japan. Team USA brought 67 athletes and a total of over 100 people to participate in these Games. They joined 845 athletes from 48 countries and territories competing in 11 sports and 270 events. In an historic upset, USA's Men's Track relay team beat out Great Britain for the gold.

More than 80 transplant athletes from across the U.S. spent a week of fierce competition at the XIV World Transplant Games held on July 19-26, in Nancy, France. Team USA garnered a total of 91 medals and earned an impressive second place standing among 55 competing countries.

With the help of our sponsors, Roche Pharmaceuticals and Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc., the National Kidney Foundation was able to provide financial assistance to the 2002 U.S. Transplant Games Outstanding Female Athlete award recipient, Juana Boyland, and Outstanding Male Athlete award recipient, Tom Glennon, for their trip to France as part of the Elite Athlete Program. Both athletes won eight out of a potential ten medals at the World Games.

Winter Games

In 1994, the French transplant athletics organization, TRANS-FORME, organized the first Transplant Games for winter sports in Tignes. Over 100 recipients from eighteen countries participated in cross country and downhill events.

The success of that event spawned the first U.S. Winter Transplant Games and Carnival in Aspen, Colorado in February of 1995. Fifty skiers from all across the nation participated in all levels of nordic and alpine events. Two years later, the second U.S. Winter Transplant Games were held at Mammoth Mountain, in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Warming up for the Olympics, Salt Lake City played host to the 1999 Winter World Transplant Games presented by the National Kidney Foundation, January 10-15, in lieu of the U.S. Winter Games. Transplant recipients hailing from 60 different countries vied for gold, silver and bronze medals in Alpine and Nordic skiing events, including biathlon and snowboarding competitions.

The 4th Winter World Transplant Games were held in Nendaz, Switzerland, January 14th-19th, 2001 with Team USA in attendance. These Games featured the first Nicholas Cup, a transplant recipient children's ski race, named in honor of 7 year old Nicholas Green who died in a tragic accident and whose organs saved the lives of seven recipients.

The next Winter World Transplant Games will be held in Bormio, Italy from January 18th-25th, 2004. Bormio is the location of the biannual Italian Ski Week and promises to be a fantastic location for the Winter World Games.