FOUR North-East teenagers whose lives were transformed by surgery will represent their country in the 14th World Transplant Games starting on Monday, July 21, in Nancy, France.
This will be the first time that older children will compete with their opposite numbers from other countries. In the past entrants had to be 18.
Rachael Johnson, 17, from Stanley, County Durham, had a kidney transplant ten years ago.
"I'm competing in the table- tennis, badminton, ten-pin bowling and ball-throwing," said Rachael.
"I feel fine, I have never had any problems."
Among her teammates will be the first British baby to survive a heart transplant in the UK, 16-year-old Kaylee Davidson, from Washington, Wearside. Kaylee was also the first British child to compete in the UK transplant games.
Emma Thomson, 15, from Stokesley, Middlesbrough, who received a heart transplant at the age of three, will also be participating, with heart-swap girl Hannah Swift, 16, from Helmsley, North Yorkshire.
The games take place every two years and were founded by an English surgeon to demonstrate how people who have undergone transplants can take part in competitive sports.
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