About Team Hawaii 2010
The Purpose
The National Kidney Foundation's Transplant Athletics program is designed to celebrate the second chance at life given to recipients of life-saving organ transplants, to encourage organ donation and to bring fitness and well-being into the lives of organ recipients. The performance of the athletes is a highly visible demonstration of the success of transplantation.
The People
More than 3,000 American recipients of tissue and organ transplants of all types currently participate in the Transplant Athletics program. Hundreds more from around the globe participate in the World Transplant Games. Team Hawaii has participated in the U.S. Games since 1995.
The Program
Before 1982, the term "transplant athletics" may have seemed an oxymoron. It was hard to imagine people with kidney on heart transplants running a 50-meter dash. But the year the first U.S. Transplant Games were held in Texas and began to change the way people thought about transplant recipients.
From that two-day statewide event the Games grew to a regional event with 70 participants, held in Minnesota in 1988. In 1990, the National Kidney Foundation took on the management and organization of the Games at the invitation of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the event's co-founder. Held in Indiana that year, the national event drew a record 400 transplant recipients.
Two more Games, in Atlanta in 1994 and in Salt Lake City in 1996, expanded the U.S. Transplant Games to include more than 1,200 athletes on 50 teams, competing in 37 events in 13 sports. Sandoz continues to sponsor the U.S. Summer Transplant Games, and was joined in 1996 by two associate sponsors, the Coca-Cola Company and the National Corvette Clubs. The 2000 and 2002 Games were held at Disney Wide World of Sports, Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Team USA
In addition to planning national competitions, the National Kidney Foundation is also helping American transplant athletes make their mark on the international transplant athletics scene. The Foundation manages Team USA's delegation to the Summer and Winter World Transplant Games, where competitors face challengers from nearly 40 countries. The 1997 World Summer Games in Sydney, Australia drew more than 3,000 athletes and supporters. The World Games will be held in Budapest in 1999. Members of Team Hawaii have also participated in Team USA at the World Games in Sydney, Australia.
Under the auspices of the World Transplant Games Federation, many countries are holding national competitions to select their best athletes, who often train year-round to qualify for their national team.
