Organisers said that 154 of the participants had undergone kidney transplants, 26 had had liver transplants and five heart transplants, while 19 had bone-marrow, lung or pancreas transplants.

The participants, aged between 20 and 60, come from 19 provinces and municipalities around China.

More than 6,000 organ transplants are performed on the mainland annually, the second-highest number in the world after the United States, organisers said.

'The games are aimed at increasing the number of organ donations, as well as encouraging the physical, mental and social rehabilitation of previously debilitated people of all ages,' said Maurice Slapak, president of the World Transplant Games Federation, based in Britain.

Chen Shi, a professor with the organ-transplant research institute of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan and also one of the organisers of this weekend's event, said: 'The games can arouse the attention of everyone towards organ-transplant patients and organ donation.'

Dr Slapak recalled that when the first games were held in Britain in 1978, two Japanese television crews erroneously thought they would capture footage of athletes dying during the events.

The athletes were all eagerly anticipating the event yesterday.

Yang Xikang , a 57-year-old from Jiangsu who had a kidney and a pancreas transplant in 2001, said he was looking forward to competing in the shot putt but, more importantly, he wanted to help inform people about organ donation.

'I am living very energetically since my operation. I exercise every day and am here to compete. And I am sure I can win,' he said.