PITTSBURGH — Pete Richdale and others like him know what it's like to get a second chance.

They use the biennial U.S, Transplant Games, an event put on by the National Kidney Foundation, as a means to celebrate it.

This year's Games are scheduled July 11 to 16 in Pittsburgh and will bring together thousands of transplant recipients from across the country.

Richdale, 65, of Butler has received kidney transplants and competed in golf, table tennis and badminton at the 2000 and 2002 Transplant Games in Orlando, Fla., and the 2004 Games in Minneapolis.

He won't be competing this summer, however.

"I was laid up in Allegheny General last year and I'm just too weak right now,"Richdale said. "The older you get, you don't bounce back as quickly."

Besides the athletes themselves, donor families and live donors are encouraged to attend the Games.

"The atmosphere is really cool,"said Nikki McKenna, 29, of Cranberry Township. "The donor families — they're probably the biggest reason we have this.

"It's an amazing experience. They get to witness first-hand what the generosity of their loved ones has done for people. Those families receive a standing ovation, for 10 minutes, at least. They deserve it."

Richdale said there were 2,000 athletes at the Louisville site in 2006 "and there will be more this year." He said nearly 20,000 people will take part in the opening ceremonies.

To be eligible to compete, the recipient's transplanted organ must be fully functioning for at least the past six months.

Sports include badminton, basketball, bowling, cycling, golf, racquetball, a 5Kroad race, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field and volleyball.

McKenna knows her donor well. She received a kidney from her father Bernie Redlinger, 10 years ago.

Active in tennis, softball and cheerleading as a youngster, McKenna noticed her ankles were swollen when she was 14.

"I was always active. I figured I sprained something," she said. "It turned out to be kidney disease. My legs and face swelled up, too.

"When I was 16, both of my kidneys failed and I went on dialysis for three years."

A Brashear High graduate, McKenna remained on dialysis while attending the University of Pittsburgh, hooked up to the machine three days a week, four hours at a time.

"I'd try to go Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 4 to 8 p.m., 5 to 9, something like that,"she said. "It was a trying time. I was always tired, felt sick, couldn't eat anything and I lost a lot of weight."

Once she received her transplant, McKenna earned a teaching degree and worked with heart and lung transplant patients at UPMCfor a while.

Now, she's a multiple gold medal winner in basketball, bowling and table tennis in the Transplant Games.

"I was able to experience what it was like being healthy and active before I got sick,"McKenna said. "Sports are important to me and I thought they'd be taken away from me forever. I can't describe what that felt like.

"I appreciate the Transplant Games and what they stand for. I never miss them."

Paula Lafean, 49, of Cabot also received a kidney transplant and got involved in the Transplant Games through the Stargell Transplant Research facility in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

"I got involved with Team Pittsburgh to give back what I received: the gift of a new life,"Lafean said.

Shelley Zomak, unit director of Cardiothoracic Transplants at the UPMC, is director of Team Pittsburgh, the city's organized team of transplant athletes.

"I competed for years when we had 45 to 55 members on the team,"Richdale said. "Now we have 113 and the list keeps growing."

Lafean competes in track and field events. She bought her own shot put and discus to practice with.

An employee of the Highlands School District, she gets some workouts and practice time in there.

Samantha Scholl, 16, of Cranberry Township, already has received two heart transplants. She competes as a gymnast across Pennsylvania and will compete in swimming, track and field and volleyball at the Transplant Games.

"I hope to be a role model for younger transplant recipients, to tell them not to give up hope and to stress the importance of taking their medication, eating healthy and staying physically fit,"Scholl says on her internet profile.

Transplant Games events will be held at the David Lawrence Convention Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Schenley Park, North Park and North Versailles,

For information, log on to www.transplantgames.org.