Receiving an organ transplant is a gift of life. One is so thankful for that chance at life that he/she forgets to celebrate or even live that precious life happily.
“An organ transplant, when done at the appropriate time, is not a mere extension of life. It is curative and helps the recipient lead a normal life. Yet, most transplant recipients lead very protected lives which can end up being sedentary and not healthy at all. Not just the public, even many in the medical fraternity are sceptical if a transplant recipient can lead a normal life,” points out Noble Gracious, Executive Director, Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (K-SOTTO), the State’s organ donation regulatory body.
It is to showcase the success of organ transplantation in improving the quality of life and spread the message of organ donation, that for the first time, Kerala is organising Transplant Games, a competitive sporting event for organ transplant recipients and donors.
The concept of Transplant Games — the importance of physical activity and healthy lifestyle in the long-term management and well being of transplant recipients — is well established.
The World Transplant Games Federation (WTGF), a worldwide organisation with representation from more than 70 countries, has been celebrating the success of organ transplantation and the gift of life through competitive sporting events for transplant recipients since 1978.
“This being the first edition of Transplant Games in the State, we were apprehensive about how our transplant community would react. But we have had a very enthusiastic response with over 350 registrations now, our youngest participant being 12-year-old Varun Anand, a kidney transplant recipient, who has already won medals in this year’s Transplant Games organised by WTGF. Our oldest participant is a 74-year-old who received a kidney 34 years ago and is leading a healthy life,” says Joe Joseph, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Lisie Hospital and one of the key organisers of the event.
“The message of this event is relevant to Kerala at this point in time, when a lot of aspersions are being cast on organ donation, which is a gift of life. We want to tell the public that all these people are well and alive today because someone was kind enough to donate them an organ. This event is to honour and celebrate the courage and determination of organ recipients and the selflessness of donors and to tell the world that both organ recipients and donors can enjoy normal, physically active lives,” Dr. Joseph says.
It is also an occasion for transplant recipients and donors to bond, connect, and form a community because they are all bound together by the altruism and generosity of many others, families as well as total strangers, he points out.
The one-day event, hosted by the Heart Care Foundation, supported by many government and NGO partners, will be held at Kochi on December 9.
A total of 10 events have been planned, including bowling, badminton, dart, chess, carroms, basketball shootout, table tennis, Swimming, 200-m race, and five-km race walk.
