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How Common Is Organ Donation?
Thanks to greater public awareness and an increasing number of people willing to donate their organs, the number of organ transplants in the U.S. has been increasing each year. In […]
Thanks to greater public awareness and an increasing number of people willing to donate their organs, the number of organ transplants in the U.S. has been increasing each year. In 2024, U.S hospitals performed a new annual record of over 48,000 transplants from over 24,000 donors, averaging 132 transplants per day. These donations came from 16,988 deceased donors and 7,030 living donors.
The most commonly transplanted organs are kidneys, followed by:
- Liver
- Heart
- Lung
- Pancreas
- Kidney/pancreas
- Intestine
- Heart/lung
- Vascularized allograft transplants (VCA) – such as transplants of hands or faces
Yet, even given these promising numbers, the demand for organs far exceeds the supply. As of May 2025, there are nearly 104,000 people awaiting life-saving organ transplants in the U.S. At any given time, around 90,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant, which can take an average of three to five years to receive. Sadly, many of those people–about 17 per day–will die before an organ becomes available. Meanwhile, a new name is added to the organ transplant waiting list every eight minutes. Still, progress has been continuing in the drive to find new organs. As of 2025, 60% of American adults are registered organ donors. This is due in large part to online registration systems and the ability to sign up as an organ donor at the DMV.
Sources
“Organ donation from deceased donors continues 12-year record-setting trend”. United Network for Organ Sharing. https://unos.org/news/2022-organ-transplants-again-set-annual-records/
“’Opt Out’ Policies Increase Organ Donation”. Stanford. https://sparq.stanford.edu/solutions/opt-out-policies-increase-organ-donation
“How many people are organ donors?” Donor Alliance. https://www.donoralliance.org/newsroom/donation-essentials/how-many-people-are-organ-donors/
“90,000 people are waiting for a kidney. Here’s one way to get them a kidney faster.” United Network for Organ Sharing. https://unos.org/news/90000-people-are-waiting-for-a-kidney-heres-one-way-to-get-them-a-kidney-faster/
“Organ Donation Facts and Statistics”. Donort Network West. https://www.donornetworkwest.org/about-donation/organ-donation-facts-statistic
