Kimiko Date
I am glad to support the World Transplant Games which will be held in Kobe
in 2001as a member of the Committee. At present, I am involved in giving
tennis lessons and its joy to children. Through this activity, I have realized
how wonderful it is to play sports. It is great that transplant recipients
fully enjoy sports and deepen friendship with people from all over the world.
I would like to support the Games will be successful.
Mutuo Ando
As my cousin is a kidney recipient, I've become a committee member to help
the Games. I will support the Games direct or indirect. It is quite a thing and
my surprise that people who were once seriously ill do play sports and a lot of
transplant recipientswill get together in Kobe from all over the world in 2001.
I strongly wish its great success.
Akemi Masuda
Transplant recipients must be living quietly. That's what I had thought about
them until 5 years ago when I listened to the speech by Ms Harue Kimura
(Tokyo University Medical Research Center) with great surprise. The World
Transplant Games havebeen held every two years since 1978,
where some recipients can run 100m as fastas 12 seconds or so, and
others compete in swimming, table tennis, etc. powerfully and vigorously.
How ignorant I was! I came to know about the fact and was strongly impressed.
The Games give them a good opportunity to share the joy of being healthy and
to talk about any worries they may have.All the more, the Games will surely give
the donor families and the viewers a feeling of happiness. It will be held soon in Kobe,
where I've heard that there are still many people who have been affected by the huge earthquake.
Your lively performances in the Games and your faces full of brightness will surely give
a good surprise and also a light of hope tomany people. I heartily wish the Games will be wonderful.
Yuko Arimori
November last year at New York City Marathon in New York, I met a runner
who started challenging marathon since the day he got heart transplant.
He said, "Do you know? It's like a dream. I was once almost dying, but now I can
challenge marathon with someone's heart. I'm alive. I'm happy. When I run, I feel I'm not
alone, I'm running together with him inside myself." The donor's mother always
comes to cheer him when he runs. Transplant recipients, with the great feeling of joy to
have restored life, can express themselves through sports in Kobe.
I heartily wish it will be successful and will cast a big light of hope to the recipients.
Shiho Fujimura
Sixteen years ago, I had a chance to watch softball games played by kidney recipients.
I was greatly impressed as all of them were full of vitality.
With this as a start, I tackled with the theme "kidney transplant",
which was the unknown world to me, and wrote a book "Beyond the Brain Death".
I have realized the preciousness of life and health, and I've come to think about
the meaning of the relay of life through transplant. I sincerely hope that the Games
to be held in Japan this time will be a wonderful one. Participants in the Games will play
the role to promote greater understanding of transplantation by showing
their good recovery of health through sports and will encourage those who
are fighting now against diseases. I wish the Games will be successful.
Ikko Furuya
My friend's daughter was suffering from the serious liver trouble and the only way
to save her life was transplantation. We started fund-raising campaign for her transplant
in overseas. I didn't have any knowledge about transplant at all.
Anyway, she luckily had a successful transplant in Australia. I was strongly moved when
she came back to Japan in good health. Those who will participate in the Games
must have his or her own drama. I hope that the Games for organ recipients to be
held in the City of Kobe, first time in Japan, will be of great success.