J Korean Soc Transplant.  2017 Mar;31(1):6-15. 10.4285/jkstn.2017.31.1.6.

Rehabilitation of Transplantee and Transplant Games

• Cho W
• Kim H
• Park U
• Park W
• Yu J
• Yoon I
• Kim S
• Ahn C

• KMID: 2375675
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4285/jkstn.2017.31.1.6

Abstract

Many transplant recipients believe that exercise or physical activity after transplantation will have adverse effects on the body and the grafted organ, and even more, some of them believe that the grafted organ will tear off from the vascular bed inside of the abdominal cavity. As a result, many recipients are isolated from social life even after successful recovery of the grafted organ function. However, rehabilitation by physical exercise and activity is essential to return to normal social life. In 1978, a transplantee's sport game known as the Transplant Olympics, which later changed to the World Transplant Games, was started to improve the quality of life and develop friendships between transplant recipients globally. This event promotes improvement of recipient's life quality while delivering an important message to the public. This is because by engaging in sports activities, transplantees can show their healthy life after transplantation to the public. This can also improve self-esteem of the family of organ donors and allow them to verify that their decision to donate was not in vain. Additionally, the public can realize the benefits of transplantation and necessity for organ donation. Finally, the early return to social life and normal family life after transplantation will also reduce the national budget for health insurance. Although sports clubs are located in all transplant centers in Korea, no continuous athletic meetings or transplant sport organization exist nationwide. This problem is exacerbated by the lack of concern that transplant physicians and surgeons show toward recipients' physical activity and exercise. Therefore, in this study, we reviewed the significance of physical activity after transplantation and describe the world transplant games and domestic games to enable development of a recipient rehabilitation plan.

Keyword

Exercise therapy; Rehabilitation; Sports; Recipient

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Cavity
Budgets
Exercise
Exercise Therapy
Friends
Humans
Insurance, Health
Korea
Motor Activity
Quality of Life
Rehabilitation*
Sports
Surgeons
Tears
Tissue and Organ Procurement
Tissue Donors
Transplant Recipients
Transplants

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Korea Transplant Games held in Ulsan, October, 2014. More than 300 recipients and their family were participated and competed table tennis and badminton.

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  Fig. 2. Winners of badminton games of 2014 Korea Transplant Games. Mr. Hwang (4th from left) got bronze medal in 2015 Mal de Plata World Transplant Games.

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  Fig. 3. Table tennis games in 2014 Korea Transplant Games.

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  Fig. 4. Team Korea participated in 2011 World Transplant Games in Sweden, and got four gold medals in golf and children's badminton and one bronze medal.

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  Fig. 5. (A) Korea Transplant Games for children in 2012. (B) Fifty meter race for children under age 12 in 2011 World Transplant Games, Sweden.

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  Fig. 6. Early post-transplant exercise of neck and upper extremity for rehabilitation.

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  Fig. 7. Stretching of foot and lower extremity for early post-transplant rehabilitation.

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