When Rhonda Fenske and Lynn Snyder head for Pittsburgh this weekend, they'll be going there to do more than show off their athletic prowess in an Olympics-style competition.

The Uniontown woman and Orrville man will be demonstrating the success of organ transplant surgery.

Sunday through Wednesday, about 1,300 organ recipients from around the country will take part in the 2008 U.S. Transplant Games. The National Kidney Foundation hosts the event every two years at various locations around the country to put the spotlight on transplant success and the
need for organ donors.

Nationally, nearly 100,000 men, women and children are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, and nearly 3,000 live in Ohio, according to LifeBanc, which is responsible for coordinating organ and tissue donations.

''I'm doing this in honor of the donor and donor family,'' said Fenske, who is in the 5K walk/run race. ''I'm going to be there on my two-year anniversary.''

The 37-year-old Fenske had a liver transplant on July 12, 2006.

''I had a rare colistatic liver disease,'' she said. ''There were only 13 cases in the world. I was born with it. Doctors told my parents it would get progressively worse and I would not live to see the age of 3.''

But Fenske survived past childhood. Her condition worsened at the age of 35 and doctors placed her on the transplant list.

''When you make the list,'' she said, ''you have to undergo several cancer-screening tests, which include CAT scans and blood work.''

Her first exam showed no sign of cancer, and she was scheduled for a second test four months later. But before that date arrived, a donor was found and Fenske underwent transplant surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. Her donor was an 11-year-old child.

When removing her liver, doctors found two malignant tumors — a condition that probably would have taken her off the transplant list if it had shown up on her scheduled exam.

''Now I'm cancer-free, so I have a lot to be thankful for,'' she said. '' I am doing this because I can.''

Fenske's husband of 11 years, Glenn, said he is proud of his wife.

''She has always tried to remain active,'' he said. ''She used to be involved in dancing and gymnastics, but now walks a lot and lifts weights.''

Orrville resident Snyder, a 57-year-old civil engineer, calls himself a weekend warrior, a wanna-be athlete who must work for a living.

In the 2006 Transplant Games, he won a gold medal in golf and a bronze in tennis. Participants compete in various age categories.

''Transplant recipients should do it if they are in good health and willing to participate,'' he said. ''[The games] are a good way to promote transplantation.''

Snyder received his liver transplant in 1995.

''I was born with a rare form of hepatitis, an auto-immune disease that attacks your own body,'' he said. ''The symptoms came in 1975, so for 20 years, I dealt with it through medication and lifestyle changes.''

Other than the liver problem, Snyder was in good health, and he was able to get back to work in six weeks after transplant surgery.

''I've only had one small episode,'' he said, ''and it only required an adjustment of medication.''

This will be Snyder's fourth appearance at the Transplant Games, and in the tennis competition, there will be a big change. Because of a scheduling conflict, he'll be playing doubles instead of singles.

''I've played tennis with my partner before, but against him in singles, not with him in doubles,'' he said.

Other area residents who are expected to participate in the games are kidney transplant recipients Donald Holzheimer, 42, of Cuyahoga Falls, in swimming, and Justin Plas, 25, of Akron, in basketball, track and field, table tennis and volleyball.