19th World Transplant Games General Info

2013 World Transplant Game - South Africa

A key goal of the World Transplant Games Federation is to bridge the gap between the need for an organ and tissue transplant and the hundreds of thousands of people who die around the world each year, because no transplant is available to them.

Why do we do this?

To raise public awareness across the globe of the life-saving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation
To increase the number of organ donors internationally.
To promote the full rehabilitation and wellbeing of participants through exercise.
To encourage and support medical research into the benefits of sport after transplantation.

The first 'Transplant Olympics' were held in Portsmouth, England in 1978. Even at that time, the Games were an international event with 99 competitors. Teams competed from UK, France, Germany, Greece, and the United States. Since then, we have seen the Games grow from strength to strength. In 2009, the Games were hosted in Gold Coast, Australia with transplanted athletes, their families and supporters, donors and donor families attending from all over the world.

Currently there are 69 member countries most of whom have their own National Transplant Sports organisations. A minimum 30% increase in organ donation has been reported by each country that has played host to the World Transplant Games!