University of Birmingham welcomes the 2027 Westfield Health British Transplant Games

The University of Birmingham will welcome the British Transplant Games to campus in summer 2027 – providing sports venues and accommodation for athletes from across the UK.

Alongside the Games, an associated academic conference is expected to attract up to 150 delegates from the UK’s transplant medicine and research community.

The Games will take place from 29 July – 1 August 2027, bringing together transplant recipients, living donors and their families for four days of competitive sport, celebration and awareness-raising around organ donation.

Some 1,500 participants will stay in a dedicated Games Village at The Vale - the University of Birmingham’s award-winning residential village on the edge of Edgbaston campus – with competitions set to take place across the University's world-class sporting facilities and the wider city.

The announcement follows the official handover of the Games at the close of the 2026 Westfield Health British Transplant Games in Sheffield, where the ceremonial flag passed to Professor Adnan Sharif, attending on behalf of the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands on 9 August, formally confirming Birmingham as host city for 2027.

Professor Adnan Sharif, representing Birmingham on the Games' Stakeholder Board, spoke at the handover ceremony, and invited competitors, families and supporters to join the Transplant Games in Birmingham in 2027.

Birmingham's successful hosting of the British Transplant Games in 2018, combined with being home to one of Europe's largest transplant centres, and the University of Birmingham's world-class sports facilities and accommodation, were key factors in its selection as host city for 2027.

The region’s diverse communities also provide an important opportunity to raise awareness of organ donation among groups that are disproportionately represented on transplant waiting lists.

Steve Hawkins, Director of Campus Services at the University of Birmingham, said: "Our Conferences and Events team is proud to welcome the British Transplant Games to campus as the official accommodation partner.

“Hosting 1,500 participants at The Vale means we can offer competitors accommodation at the heart of our campus, alongside the facilities they need to compete, connect and enjoy everything the Games have to offer.

"The British Transplant Games are a truly inspiring celebration of resilience, achievement and the power of organ donation, and we are delighted to play our part in bringing the event to Birmingham in 2027."

Transplant Conference

Professor Adnan Sharif, Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham, will organise a two-day associated academic conference on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 July. The conference will feature a plenary address from Professor Robert Montgomery - named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of 2025 and a leading expert in the transplantation field.

Professor Sharif said: "Bringing together clinicians, researchers and patients around the Games will give us a unique opportunity to share the latest advances in transplant medicine while celebrating the outcomes that make this work so worthwhile.

"The conference will explore some of the most important developments in transplantation today, from improving patient outcomes and expanding access to transplantation to the latest innovations in clinical practice and research.

"Having Professor Robert Montgomery join us as a plenary speaker reflects the calibre of expertise that we are able to bring to Birmingham. I am looking forward to a conference that matches the ambition, energy and sense of possibility that make the British Transplant Games such a special event."

World-class sport

The University of Birmingham has a long and proud history of welcoming elite and international sport to its campus; from providing competition venues for squash and hockey during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, to now hosting the British Transplant Games for the second time.

Ranked second in the UK and ninth globally for sports-related subjects, the University of Birmingham is recognised as a global leader in sporting excellence. With a sporting legacy dating back to 1946, Birmingham was the first UK university to offer undergraduate teaching in physical education in 1946, later being launched as a degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences.

Organised by Transplant Active and held annually since 1978, the Transplant Games bring together over 2,500 transplant recipients aged from two to over 80, competing across more than 20 sports - demonstrating the life-changing impact of organ donation and encouraging thousands more people to join the NHS Organ Donation Register.

Dr Paul Harden, Chair of Transplant Active, said: “The Westfield Health British Transplant Games is a vehicle that allows us to shine a light on the crucial role of organ donation, where one person can save up to nine lives.

“We face the heartbreaking reality that approximately 1,000 lives are lost unnecessarily every year, for those waiting for a transplant, which underlines the importance of as many people as possible supporting organ donation.

“We are looking forward to hosting the Games in Birmingham, and we hope to leave a legacy of greater awareness for the ongoing need for more donors.”

Ranked 68th in the 2026 QS World University Rankings and 98th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the University of Birmingham is one of the world's leading universities. Birmingham is recognised for providing a world-class environment for sport and performance, supporting student-athletes, welcoming international competitors, and hosting major global events on its campus.