The countdown begins: Team UAE get ready to compete at the World Transplant Games

Dubai, UAE – 29 July: The excitement is building as the United Arab Emirates gears up to make its historic debut at the World Transplant Games (WTG), taking place this August in Dresden, Germany. For the first time, a team of organ transplant recipients and living donors will represent the UAE on the world stage under the banner of Hayat, the National Programme for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation.

This landmark participation comes just one year after the UAE became a member of the World Transplant Games Federation (WTGF), a global initiative promoting health, hope, and athleticism after transplant. The WTG is the largest international event for transplant athletes, living donors, and donor families – a powerful celebration of life, second chances, and human resilience.

Team UAE isn’t just heading to compete. They’re going to inspire. Each athlete has a story rooted in survival, courage, and the gift of organ donation – showing the world that life after transplant can be active, meaningful, and extraordinary.

Meet the Athletes (@UAEtransplantathletes):

• Hind Juma – Living kidney donor. Donated her kidney to her mother in 2022. “We’re both thriving with renewed energy,” she says.
  @Hind_Juma
• Katie Larkins – Liver transplant recipient & UAE Team Manager. Saved through the UAE–Kuwait organ exchange in 2021. “This is how I honour my donor – by living fully.”
  @the_expat_organ_lady
• Omar “OT” Tom – Two-time kidney transplant recipient. Entrepreneur and sprinter. “I’m racing to see how far I can push my body beyond what is deemed normal and to spread the message of abundant possibilities.”
  @OTofficial
• Fatima Rashid – Kidney transplant recipient. “Every movement now feels like a celebration – and a tribute to the life I’ve been given.”
  @KidneySoldier
• Justin Anthony – Double lung transplant recipient. “Just when I thought it was the end, my miracle came through. Now I breathe freely – and compete with pride.”

@jusbreathe_ph

• Husena Beguwala – Double lung transplant recipient. “This is bigger than sport. It’s about rewriting lives and raising awareness.”
  @HusenaSB

You can show your support by following the team’s journey online and cheering them on as they compete on the world stage.

The UAE team schedule:

Monday, August 18
5k Road Race – Katie, Fatima, Husena, Hind

Tuesday, August 19
Petanque Doubles – Katie, Husena
Ten-pin Bowling – Justin

Friday, August 22
3km Race Walk – Katie, Hind, Husena
100m Sprints – Omar, Fatima
Javelin – Fatima, Justin

Saturday, August 23
200m Sprints – Omar, Fatima
Discus – Justin
Ball Throw – Justin