Waitlist deaths decrease under UNOS’ operation of nation’s organ system

Last year, a record number of organ transplants were performed in the United States – more than 48,000, which represents an increase of 23 percent since 2020.

What has changed?

The U.S. has seen an increase in deceased organ donors every year for the past 15 years. As a result, fewer patients are dying each day while waiting for an organ – 13 each day in 2023, compared with 16 per day in 2021. There are still more than 100,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, and UNOS has proposed a number of reforms aimed at increasing the number of organs available for transplant and improving patient outcomes.

The nation’s organ donation and transplant system is moving in the right direction, but there is still more work to be done to ensure that no patient dies while awaiting a transplant.

Learn about UNOS’ proposed reforms and learn how you can help.

* The latest data available for waiting list deaths from the 2023 OPTN/SRTR annual data report.