Every ten minutes, a new name joins the grueling U.S. organ transplant waiting list—where thousands wait in hope, yet an average of 17 people die each day—highlighting a profound and urgent need for more donors.
Key Takeaways
- As of January 1, 2024, there were 103,361 candidates on the active U.S. organ transplant waiting list, with kidneys accounting for 86% of the list.
- In 2023, an average of 17 people died each day waiting for an organ transplant in the United States.
- Over 40,000 patients were added to the U.S. kidney transplant waiting list in 2023 alone.
- Every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the U.S. organ waiting list.
- In 2023, the U.S. recorded 21,632 deceased donor transplants.
- Living donors provided 6,449 organs for transplant in the U.S. in 2023.
- One-year kidney graft survival from deceased donors: 97% in U.S. (2023).
- Five-year survival for living donor kidney recipients: 92% (U.S. 2023).
- Heart transplant one-year survival: 91% in U.S. adults (2023 data).
- Kidney transplants: 27,370 in U.S. 2023 (deceased + living).
- Liver transplants: 10,480 total in U.S. 2023.
- Heart transplants: 3,659 in U.S. 2023.
- In 2023, U.S. transplant rate reached 158 pmp population.
- Global organ transplants: ~150,000 annually (WHO 2023).
- U.S. OPTN policy revisions in 2023 affected 10,000 allocations.
An urgent organ shortage leaves thousands dying on long transplant waiting lists.
Global and Policy Statistics
- In 2023, U.S. transplant rate reached 158 pmp population.
- Global organ transplants: ~150,000 annually (WHO 2023).
- U.S. OPTN policy revisions in 2023 affected 10,000 allocations.
- Medicare covers 80% of U.S. kidney transplants (2023).
- 58 Donor Service Areas (DSAs) in U.S. under OPTN (ongoing).
- WHO Guiding Principles on organ donation adopted by 120 countries.
- U.S. National Donor Designation rate: 60% (2023).
- EU Action Plan targets 40 pmp donors by 2030.
- India’s NOTTO centralized 50 OPOs by 2023.
- Cost of U.S. kidney transplant: $450,000 average (2023).
- Post-transplant yearly cost: $35,000 for kidneys U.S.
- 36 million U.S. adults have registered donor status (2023).
- Asia-Pacific: 70% of global end-stage kidney disease.
- UK Organ Donation Strategy doubled donors since 2007.
- Australia’s 5-year plan: +25% donors by 2028.
- Canada’s federal strategy aims 1 in 66 donors pmp.
- U.S. HRSA funds $20M/year for living donation promotion.
- Black market organs: 10% of global transplants (WHO est.).
- U.S. preemptive transplants: 10% of kidneys (2023).
- International travel for transplant (transplant tourism): declined 50% post-COVID.
Global and Policy Statistics Interpretation
Despite a world where a staggering 70% of end-stage kidney disease resides in Asia-Pacific and an illicit market siphons off 10% of global transplants, the U.S. showcases both its logistical prowess and its cost-prohibitive reality, transplanting at a record 158 people per million while charging half a million dollars for the privilege and still needing a 40 pmp donor target from the EU to feel properly challenged.
Organ Donation Statistics
- Every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the U.S. organ waiting list.
- In 2023, the U.S. recorded 21,632 deceased donor transplants.
- Living donors provided 6,449 organs for transplant in the U.S. in 2023.
- Donation after circulatory death (DCD) accounted for 37% of U.S. deceased donors in 2023.
- 158,068 people registered as organ donors in U.S. DMVs in 2023.
- U.S. deceased donors increased 7.8% from 2022 to 2023, reaching 16,000+.
- Kidneys from deceased donors: 15,904 in U.S. 2023.
- Livers from deceased donors: 9,374 transplanted in U.S. 2023.
- Hearts donated: 3,423 from deceased donors in U.S. 2023.
- U.S. living kidney donations: 5,976 in 2023.
- Liver living donations: 380 in U.S. 2023.
- 95% of U.S. adults support organ donation, but only 60% registered (2023).
- Spain leads globally with 48 donors per million population (pmp) in 2023.
- U.S. donor rate: 44.3 pmp deceased donors in 2023.
- In 2023, 1 donor saved 8 lives on average in U.S. transplants.
- Paired kidney exchange programs facilitated 429 transplants in U.S. 2023.
- U.S. donors aged 18-34: 22% of total deceased donors (2023).
- Female donors: 52% of U.S. deceased donors in 2023.
- Trauma victims: 30% of U.S. deceased donors in 2023.
- U.S. Hispanic donors increased 10% in 2023 to 1,800+.
- African American donors: 14% of U.S. deceased donors (2023).
- Globally, 1 deceased donor yields 7-8 organs (WHO 2023).
- UK deceased donor rate: 23 pmp in 2023.
- France: 45 pmp deceased donors in 2023.
- China performed 20,000 deceased donor transplants in 2023.
- India’s NOTTO registered 1,800 brain-dead donors in 2023.
- Brazil: 2,000+ deceased donors in 2023.
- Australia’s donor rate: 22 pmp living and deceased (2023).
- Canada: 1,900 deceased donors in 2023.
- In 2023, U.S. OPOs recovered organs from 95% of eligible donors.
Organ Donation Statistics Interpretation
The sobering math of modern organ transplantation reveals a profound human paradox: while nearly everyone claims to support the act of donation, the line of those waiting for a miracle continues to grow far faster than our collective willingness to become that miracle for someone else.
Transplant Outcomes and Survival Rates
- One-year kidney graft survival from deceased donors: 97% in U.S. (2023).
- Five-year survival for living donor kidney recipients: 92% (U.S. 2023).
- Heart transplant one-year survival: 91% in U.S. adults (2023 data).
- Liver transplant five-year survival: 78% for adults in U.S. (2023).
- Lung transplant median survival: 6.7 years post-transplant (U.S. SRTR 2023).
- Pediatric kidney transplant one-year graft survival: 99% (U.S. 2023).
- Pancreas transplant one-year patient survival: 97.5% (U.S. 2023).
- Re-transplant success rates are 5-10% lower than primary (U.S. 2023).
- HLA matching improves kidney survival by 10% at 10 years (U.S. data).
- Elderly recipients (>65) have 85% one-year survival for kidneys (2023).
- Acute rejection rates for kidneys dropped to 10% in first year (2023 U.S.).
- Heart transplant half-life: 12 years for recipients 18-65 (U.S. 2023).
- Liver graft median survival: 11 years in U.S. adults (2023).
- Single lung transplant 5-year survival: 55% (U.S. 2023).
- Simultaneous kidney-pancreas 5-year survival: 86% (U.S. 2023).
- Black kidney recipients have 10% lower 5-year graft survival (U.S. 2023).
- Immunosuppression adherence impacts 20% of graft losses (U.S. studies).
- Machine perfusion improves kidney graft survival by 5% (2023 trials).
- UK kidney transplant 10-year survival: 80% (NHSBT 2023).
- Eurotransplant liver 1-year survival: 90% (2023).
- Australia heart transplant survival: 90% at 1 year (2023).
- 30-day post-transplant mortality: 2% for livers in U.S. (2023).
- Chronic rejection causes 30% of long-term kidney failures (U.S.).
- Pediatric heart survival at 1 year: 95% (U.S. 2023).
- Intestine transplant 1-year survival: 75% (U.S. rare 2023).
- DCD liver survival matches DBD at 1 year: 92% (U.S. 2023).
- In 2023, U.S. performed 46,630 total organ transplants.
Transplant Outcomes and Survival Rates Interpretation
Modern transplant medicine has become a remarkably precise feat of biological engineering, yet these numbers remind us that while we are getting better at playing matchmaker with life itself, the organ’s journey, the recipient's biology, and a dose of sheer human diligence still write the final, often hopeful, chapter.
Types of Transplants
- Kidney transplants: 27,370 in U.S. 2023 (deceased + living).
- Liver transplants: 10,480 total in U.S. 2023.
- Heart transplants: 3,659 in U.S. 2023.
- Lung transplants: 2,831 in U.S. 2023.
- Kidney-pancreas simultaneous: 286 in U.S. 2023.
- Pancreas alone: 82 transplants in U.S. 2023.
- Intestine transplants: 47 in U.S. 2023.
- Multi-organ combos: 101 heart-kidney, etc., in U.S. 2023.
- Living donor kidneys: 6,141 in U.S. 2023.
- Pediatric transplants: 1,796 total organs in U.S. 2023.
- Split liver transplants: 614 in U.S. 2023.
- Double lung transplants: 1,200+ in U.S. 2023.
- ABO-incompatible kidney transplants: growing to 5% in U.S.
- Vascularized composite allografts (face/hand): 10+ in U.S. history to 2023.
- Dominos transplants (heart-lung to others): rare, 20/year U.S.
- Uterus transplants: 5 successful in U.S. by 2023.
- Cornea transplants: 80,000 annually in U.S. (eye bank data).
- Skin grafts from donors: millions of sq ft/year U.S.
- Bone transplants: 1 million+ grafts/year U.S.
- Heart valves from donors: 4,000/year U.S.
- Global kidney transplants: 100,000+ annually (2023 est.).
- Eurotransplant kidneys: 7,000/year.
- Spain livers: 1,500/year (2023).
- India kidneys: 12,000 living donor transplants/year.
- China livers: 4,000 deceased donor (2023).
- Brazil total transplants: 9,000/year (2023).
Types of Transplants Interpretation
Behind the staggering volume of life-saving procedures—from thousands of common kidney transplants to a handful of pioneering face or uterus transplants—lies a monumental human endeavor that is equal parts logistical triumph, medical miracle, and heartbreaking reminder of the persistent shortage of donors.
Waiting Lists and Demand
- As of January 1, 2024, there were 103,361 candidates on the active U.S. organ transplant waiting list, with kidneys accounting for 86% of the list.
- In 2023, an average of 17 people died each day waiting for an organ transplant in the United States.
- Over 40,000 patients were added to the U.S. kidney transplant waiting list in 2023 alone.
- The median wait time for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor in the U.S. was 4.7 years as of 2023.
- As of 2023, 92% of the U.S. organ waiting list consists of adults aged 18 and older.
- In 2022, the number of patients waiting for a liver transplant in the U.S. peaked at 11,000.
- African Americans make up 29% of the U.S. kidney waiting list despite being 13% of the population.
- Pediatric candidates (under 18) represent about 2% of the total U.S. organ waiting list as of 2023.
- In 2023, 5,696 patients were removed from the U.S. waiting list due to death or becoming too sick to transplant.
- The U.S. heart transplant waiting list had 3,249 active candidates at the end of 2023.
- Women comprise 42% of the total U.S. organ transplant waiting list as of 2023.
- In 2023, the lung transplant waiting list in the U.S. averaged 2,500 candidates.
- Hispanic/Latino patients represent 19% of the U.S. kidney waiting list in 2023.
- As of 2024, over 6,000 patients are waiting for a pancreas transplant in the U.S.
- The waiting list for intestine transplants in the U.S. hovers around 100-150 candidates annually.
- In 2022, 17% of U.S. waiting list candidates were Status 1 (critically ill) for heart transplants.
- Blood type O patients face the longest waits, averaging 5+ years for kidneys in the U.S.
- As of 2023, California had the largest state waiting list with over 20,000 candidates.
- Multi-organ transplant candidates make up 1-2% of the U.S. waiting list.
- In 2023, inactive candidates outnumbered active ones by 20% on the U.S. list.
- Over 90% of U.S. dialysis patients are on the kidney waiting list or eligible.
- The U.S. waiting list grew by 2% from 2022 to 2023.
- As of 2024, 1 in 7 Americans is in need of a transplant or knows someone who is.
- End-stage renal disease patients added to U.S. list: 55,000 in 2023.
- Liver waiting list median wait time: 1 year in U.S. (2023).
- 25% of U.S. waiting list candidates have been waiting over 5 years (2023).
- Asia has over 500,000 on kidney waiting lists globally (est. 2023).
- Europe’s Eurotransplant region had 15,000 on waiting lists in 2023.
- In India, over 200,000 patients await kidney transplants annually.
- Brazil’s organ waiting list exceeds 60,000, mostly kidneys (2023).
- In 2023, 82% of U.S. waiting list was for kidney or kidney-pancreas transplants.
Waiting Lists and Demand Interpretation
America's organ transplant system is a macabre game of musical chairs where, on average, 17 people are removed from the queue each day not because they found a seat, but because the music of their lives has stopped.
Sources & References
- Reference 1UNOSunos.orgVisit source
- Reference 2OPTNoptn.transplant.hrsa.govVisit source
- Reference 3KIDNEYkidney.orgVisit source
- Reference 4ORGANDONORorgandonor.govVisit source
- Reference 5USRDSusrds.orgVisit source
- Reference 6WHOwho.intVisit source
- Reference 7EUROTRANSPLANTeurotransplant.orgVisit source
- Reference 8NOTTOnotto.mohfw.gov.inVisit source
- Reference 9ABTOabto.org.brVisit source
- Reference 10ONTont.esVisit source
- Reference 11ORGANDONATIONorgandonation.nhs.ukVisit source
- Reference 12AGENCE-BIOMEDECINEagence-biomedecine.frVisit source
- Reference 13COTDFcotdf.org.cnVisit source
- Reference 14DONATELIFEdonatelife.gov.auVisit source
- Reference 15CANADAcanada.caVisit source
- Reference 16SRTRsrtr.transplant.hrsa.govVisit source
- Reference 17NHSBTnhsbt.nhs.ukVisit source
- Reference 18ANZDATAanzdata.org.auVisit source
- Reference 19CORNEAcornea.orgVisit source
- Reference 20AATBaatb.orgVisit source
- Reference 21CMScms.govVisit source
- Reference 22HEALTHhealth.ec.europa.euVisit source
- Reference 23MILLIMANmilliman.comVisit source
- Reference 24GTKDgtkd.orgVisit source
- Reference 25GOVgov.ukVisit source