World Transplant Games launches with conference in NewcastleGateshead

The World Transplant Games will begin with a conference in NewcastleGateshead, from 17-24 August this year. The event is an Olympics-style games for participants who have had successful organ and tissue transplants. Over 3,000 participants from 50 different countries are expected to attend. Taking place 17 August at King’s Hall on Newcastle University Campus, the conference called “Life Saver to Life Changer” is themed around celebrating the impact of organ donation and transplantation. It will attract over 170 clinicians, academics, sports scientists, physiotherapists and athletes from around the world. A symposium and a variety of workshops will examine the contribution of Newcastle, its hospitals and university to the field of transplantation medicine. It will also examine the use of exercise and health promotion as part of a healthy lifestyle following organ transplantation. Paul Szomoru, director of business events at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming delegates to NewcastleGateshead for the World Transplant Games symposium 2019. “We’re proud to have some of the country’s top medical professionals and academic research institutions right here on our doorstep and not only does hosting this event build on the region’s reputation as a leading authority in transplantation, but the message of the games and symposium is so powerful and inspiring. “The lasting impact of the World Transplant Games will be phenomenal, and this will be maximised through the symposium, especially the public engagement element, encouraging members of the public to become donors not just from within NewcastleGateshead but throughout the UK.”