Athletics legend Eamonn Coghlan, speaking at last year's launch of the 2010 European Transplant & Dialysis Games

And former world champion Coghlan knows he will be talking to an already-motivated bunch when he meets with the members of the Irish team ahead of the European Transplant & Dialysis Games.

Dublin has the honour of hosting these Games for the first time next month, and Coghlan has agreed to come on board as Games Ambassador.

“I have been asked to speak with the Irish team at their final pre-Games get-together on Sunday, July 25^th, and I am delighted to do so – but, to be perfectly honest, I know they won’t need motivation,” said Coghlan, whose motivational talk will take place on Sunday, July 25^th, in ALSAA sports venue near Dublin Airport.

“All of these people have shown remarkable courage in their lives. Each one of them knows what it is like to be seriously ill, and yet they all remain committed to sport and to an active and healthy lifestyle.

“It is truly inspirational.”

Irish companies have been urged to look at a novel way of supporting this August’s European Transplant & Dialysis Games in Dublin – by letting staff members a ‘volunteer day’ to help out.

Over 350 transplant and dialysis athletes from 24 European countries will converge on Dublin from August 8^th-15^th for the European Games.

All of the athletes are currently on kidney dialysis or have had a transplant of organs such as heart, kidney, liver, or lung.

The Games village will be at DCU on Dublin’s northside.

“The key message of the Games is the importance of organ donation. That’s what we constantly promote, and these Games will help to spread that message far and wide,” said team manager Colin White.

A special website has been built – www.2010newlife.com – where supporters can follow the build-up to the Games.

For an organ donor card, FREETEXT the word ‘DONOR’ to 50050.

Some facts about the Games

• These are the 6^th European Transplant & Dialysis Games. They take place from August 8^th-15^th in Dublin.
• Over 350 athletes from 24 countries will take part
• Athletes taking part will have received a transplant of one, or a combination, of the following: kidney, liver, heart, pancreas, lungs, and bone marrow, or else will be receiving dialysis treatment
• The European Transplant & Dialysis Games take place every second year. At the 2008 Games, in Wurzburg, Germany, the Irish team finished third on the medals table from 24 competing countries. Ireland brought home a total of 42 medals

Watch Nikos jump to Gold glory in 2006
(fast broadband needed for video)

The story of the 49-year-old Greek is characterized by joy of life and energy, even though he did not always have an easy time in his life. When he was 20 years old, he was diagnosed a kidney disease. After having been on the waiting list  for a year, he received a new kidney transplant.

However, his body did not properly accept the organ. He had to spend the next months in hospital until his body had rejected the new kidney completely. These months had been “the worst of my life“. Karantakos says: “I hit rock bottom, physically as well as mentally“.

When afterwards he had to be dialyzed again, however, the situation improved. His quality of life increased and he could go back to work on a regular basis. Fourteen years later, he received the life-saving call. They had found a suitable donor kidney for him.

At first, Karantakos could not believe it; he thought it was a joke. But it was the truth. And this time, his body accepted the kidney. Karantakos remembers the day when he was informed about the donor kidney as if it were yesterday.

Since in Greece the average waiting period for a new kidney amounts to ten years, and the system is not very well organized, Karantakos also had his name added to the waiting list in France. He explains: “At that time, I had to be dialyzed for five hours three times a week, at 8 am.”

Back in those days, his mother called him at 7 am so that he would not oversleep, he says. One day, he adds, she rang him even though Karantakos had no dialysis appointment for that morning. He wondered why she was calling. She told him that she had received a call from a hospital in France. They had informed her that they had a donor kidney for him. “At first, I thought it was a joke,” Karantakos says. He asked his friend, a French teacher, to call the hospital in France for reassurance.

And it was true. Karantakos immediately went into a tourist agency and booked a flight to France. He got used to the new kidney slowly and felt „better every day“. He was allowed to drink as much as he wanted, eat whatever he liked to and go on holidays for one week or more again.

His career as a sportsman began only when he received the new kidney. He was already 35 years old and started slowly.

At first, he was only walking short distances, then he started jogging slightly and expanded the distance more and more. And for the first time after fifteen years, he could smell his own sweat again.

This was a “very exhilarant feeling” for him, because dialysis patients barely sweat. They must not drink a lot. “I felt vital”, he says. In 1996 he participated in the World Championships for Transplanted in Manchester, UK and immediately won the bronze medal in table tennis.

The real reason for his participation was that he “was curious to meet other people who have received an organ transplant”. He realized that he was justat the beginning of his career as a sportsman.

But he also realized that there were World Transplant Games as well as national competitions, but nothing on a European level. Consequently, Karantakos organized the first European Transplant and Dialysis Games which took place in Athens in 2000. Up to now, Karantakos has participated in 15 national competitions, 5 ETDG and 7 World Transplant Games.

He draws the motivation for his commitment to the participation, but also to the organization, from the quality of life that the transplantation and sports have given him. Doing sports again after 15 years gave him a feeling of freedom. He also wants “to give other people the possibility” to experience that.

Karantakos was already twice accorded the honor of participating in the Olympic torch relay. In 1996, he took part as a companion, and in 2000 he himself was allowed to

carry the Olympic torch.

From 1977 to 2007, Karantakos worked as a police officer. This job was physically strenuous but it was also a challenge for him. When he started dialyzing in 1979, in Greece there was not much talk about dialysis. When his boss asked for him, his colleagues said: “Karantakos has his blood changed!” The boss was so shocked by this statement that he did not want to be told more and this was enough of an excuse for Karantakos’ absence from work. Now he enjoys his life as a pensioner to the fullest.

When the renal disease broke out 30 years ago, Karantakos would never have thought that he would do so well now. In the future, he wants to continue his organizational work and play a role behind the scenes of the games.  And he wants the games to be acknowledged all over the world.

* This article first appeared in Daily News, the daily newspaper produced in conjunction with the 5th European Transplant & Dialysis Games in Wurzburg, Germany, 2008. Date of publication: Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Team Hungary, who will be competing in Ireland in August

It is expected that over 350 transplant and dialysis athletes from 24 European countries will converge on Dublin from August 8^th-15^th for the European Games.

All of the athletes are currently on kidney dialysis or have an organ (kidney, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas) or a bone marrow transplant.

“It is a huge honour for Ireland to host these Games. The Games celebrate the gift of life, and everyone who gets to the starting-line is a winner already,” said Colin White, chairman of the Local Organising Committee.

“A number of companies have already invested in sponsorship packages but we need some more support to ensure we can run the Games to a standard Ireland can be proud of – we need to raise in excess of €150,000.”

“The Irish Kidney Association is currently running a raffle for a car, and funds raised from this will go towards the costs of staging the games.” Tickets are available via 1890 543639.

It is Ireland’s first time to host the Games, and the Games village will be at Dublin City University on Dublin’s northside.

“The key message of the Games is the success of organ donation and the value of more people carrying organ donor cards. That’s what we constantly promote, and these Games will help to spread that message far and wide,” added Mr White, who can be contacted at the Irish Kidney Association (01 620 5306).

A special website has been built – www.2010newlife.com – where supporters can follow the build-up to the Games.

For an organ donor card, FREETEXT the word ‘DONOR’ to 50050.

Some facts about the Games

• These are the 6^th European Transplant & Dialysis Games. They take place from August 8^th-15^th in Dublin.
• Over 350 athletes from 24 countries will take part
• Athletes taking part will have received a transplant of one, or a combination, of the following: kidney, liver, heart, pancreas, lungs, and bone marrow, or else will be receiving dialysis treatment
• The European Transplant & Dialysis Games take place every second year. At the 2008 Games, in Wurzburg, Germany, the Irish team finished third on the medals table from 24 competing countries. Ireland brought home a total of 42 medals

I don’t have German, but Google helpfully translated it into English for me. A great service. A great blog too. We look forward to meeting all our friends from Austria in Dublin this August.