Transplantees and Sport [antikvár]

PREAMBLE (foreword)Some ten years ago with the spreading of the dialysis treatment, that group of kidney patients who were considered hopeless cases before, were given a chance to make their lives longer. Development of the medical sciences opened up new prossibilities to these patients and the transplantation of organs make it possible for us to live a new life. We are this group, the transplant recipients. Fortunately during these years the number of organ transplant operations increased rapidly, and the kidney transplant operation was followed by heart, liver, lung and pancreas operations as well. In this way more and more patients who were thought incurable before, got a new lease on life. We became a small special group within society, with our own special care and problems. The long-lasting illness often causes the patients to be isolated and it is not easy to re-enter society, which often makes it difficult for the transplant recipients. One of the ways to get back into society is sport. The first international sport movement of transplant recipients was launched in Porthmouth, England in 1978. The father of the World Transplant Games was Maurice Slapak, a transplant surgeon, who is the founding president of the World Transplant Games Federation. The Games became very popular, and all the continents of the world had been drawn into it by now. What they experience at the World Transplant Games motivates thousands of transplant recipients to get involved in sports. This event makes it possible for transplant athletes from all over the world to meet every other year. The increasing number of the transplant athletes, and the athletes' struggle to perform better, raise special questions in the area of sports medicine.The spread of adequate dialysis provides the possibility for the dialysed patients to get involved in regular sports activity. It is very important for them to be in good physical condition, because that is one of the prerequisites of a successful transplant operation.This is a collection of those essays and writings that attempt to help find a solution to the transplant recipients' and dialysed patients' special social, health and athletic problems. I would like to thank all the authors for dealing with the problems of this group. I hope this book will provide some new and useful information to the members of the European transplant and dialysed associations and organisations.Judit BerenteEuropean Transplant and Dialysis Sports Federation President5