Transplant Games of America holds opening ceremony

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — The 2024 Transplant Games of America celebrated with an opening ceremony at Legacy Arena on Saturday evening.

Thousands of fans and athletes packed the seats and made sure the games got started the right way. The Transplant Games give transplant recipients and donors an opportunity to compete for gold, but even those who aren’t playing a sport this week are getting the chance to win.

Scott Sumner received a heart transplant six months ago. He was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The condition meant Scott was born with half of a heart.

“His entire life has been surgeries and medicines and doctors’ offices,” said Scott’s mom Jennifer Sumner.

His mother said there were lots of scary moments for the family while her son was waiting for a transplant.

“Receiving a heart was the difference between him living and not,” Jennifer Sumner said.

The family heard about the Transplant Games shortly after Scott Sumner’s transplant surgery. They knew right away they had to go.

“This is my first time coming here, and I feel really excited,” Scott Sumner said. “I hope I can come back next year.”

Because Scott Sumner’s surgery was under nine months ago, he can’t participate in the sporting events at the Transplant Games. He was able to represent his hometown during the games’ opening ceremony Saturday night alongside the music, dancing and thousands of other transplant recipients and donors.

“Mostly just have fun. That’s about it, and I also want to represent my town Double Springs,” Scott Sumner said.

“Just the fact that we can even be here is an amazing feat,” Jennifer Sumner said. “He started playing the saxophone a month ago, so he’s going to be in the band at school. He is going to get to be able to do things that other kids his age take for granted. He’s going to be able to get up in the morning and go fix his breakfast. It’s just an amazing thing for me being a mom.”

The Transplant Games has 20 different sporting events, which are free to attend. A full schedule of events can be found here .

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