The Transplant Games, which feature competitions with athletes who have had organ transplants, will be held in Birmingham with events beginning Friday and continuing through Wednesday, July 10, at the BJCC and some other venues in the metro area.

The Transplant Games is a national, festival-style event that features about 3,000 athletes competing.

“We’re putting on a show that’s unbelievable,” said Bill Ryan, president and CEO of the Transplant Life Foundation. “In order to compete you have to be an organ recipient or a living donor.”

The event promotes organ donation and celebrates organ donors and transplant recipients, donor families, individuals on the waiting list, caregivers and transplant professionals.

“Their message is clear, that transplant saves lives,” Ryan said.

There are more than 40,000 organ transplants a year in the United States, and the foundation is hoping to set a new record of more than 50,000 this year, he said. “There’s 115,000 people in the United States on the waiting list for an organ, and roughly 15 to 17 of them will die every day because an organ was not available for them,” Ryan said.

Ryan said more than 7,000 people are expected to attend the games that will be staged primarily at the BJCC.

The opening ceremony is Saturday at 7:15 p.m. at Legacy Arena. Events are free to the public, he said. See a schedule here.

The Games is held every two years to honor the legacy of donors, highlight the need for an importance of organ, eye and tissue donation, celebrate the success of transplantation and increase the national and state donor registry numbers.