Four years ago he received a new liver, today Paul Knüpfer is competing at the World Transplant Games in Dresden. The 34-year-old is competing with other transplant recipients in various sports - golf, table tennis and football - with the 800-meter race still to come on Saturday. "I am very grateful that I can live the life I have," says the Dresden native.
It is a first for Knüpfer: this is the first time he has taken part in the World Transplant Games. And for the first time, the games are being held in Germany. Until August 24, transplanted athletes will be competing in the Saxon state capital in a total of 17 sports, including tennis, cycling, swimming and athletics. Around 2,200 participants and helpers from 51 nations are taking part - including over 1,500 transplanted athletes. They will show what people with a new organ are capable of.
Paul Knüpfer was seventeen years old when he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. "An antibody was discovered in me, my own cells were attacking tissue in my liver." The disease was unstoppable, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis and eventually liver carcinoma. At an age when other young adults are discovering the world, Knüpfer was repeatedly hospitalized and had to take it easy. Since then, he has had to take medication to suppress the activity of his immune system.
