This year’s World Transplant Games are hosted by South Africa
- By MedZine Redactie -
- Posted on
From July 28th to August 4th, the 19th edition of the World Transplant Games takes place. The event, which is held every two years, is hosted by the city of Durban, South Africa.
This year, 46 countries are sending a team and about 1700 transplanted athletes will compete and participate in athletics, badminton, golf, squash, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, cycling and swimming. Athletes varying from 4 to 80 years old are participate in these games. For example, the Dutch team consists of 31 kidney-, 8 lung-, 7 heart-, 4 liver- and 2 stem cell transplant patients, aged 10 to 74 years.
According to the World Transplant Games Foundation, the games are ‘a celebration of the human spirit that gives individuals, most with previously life-threatening ailments, the opportunity to compete in a high-level sports event and in addition to leading a normal, fulfilling live, these people are able to push the boundaries of their physical endurance.’
Source: World Transplant Games 2013
