Transplant trends
More transplants than ever
Thanks to the gift of life from organ donors and their families, the number of donors and transplants performed in 2019 in the United States reached all-time highs.
More transplants than ever
Thanks to the gift of life from organ donors and their families, the number of donors and transplants performed in 2019 in the United States reached all-time highs.
8.7% increase from 2018
39,719
total transplants in 2019
January 2019 – December 2019 as of 04/01/2020
7,397
living donor transplants
Far exceeding the 2004 record of 6,992
2019: All time new record
Omar was gifted “a second shot at life” when his brother became his living liver donor.
Learn about living donation2019: 9th record-breaking year
Nearly 11,900
deceased donors
Even with a 38% increase in deceased donation since 2014, the need for organ donors is immense. On average, 17 patients died every day waiting for a transplant in 2018.
2020 donors, deceased and living
donors
Total Donors January - April 2020 as of 05/27/20202020 transplants
transplants performed this year
Total Transplants January - April 2020 as of 05/27/2020Continuous improvement
The U.S. system for organ donation and recovery is among the best in the world. But there is more that we can and must do. UNOS works with the organ donation and transplant community to drive improvement and save more lives.
10 things UNOS is doing to increase organ utilization
Transplants by organ type
In total, health care teams across the country performed 39,719* transplants with organs from both deceased and living donors in 2019. Here, see the percentage change from between 2018 and 2019 by organ type.
Kidney
10.6%
2019: 23,401
2018: 21,167
Liver
7.8%
2019: 8,896
2018: 8,250
Heart
4.2%
2019: 3,552
2018: 3,408
Lung
7.3%
2019: 2,714
2018: 2,530
Pancreas
25.5%
2019: 143
2018: 192
Kidney-pancreas
4.4%
2019: 872
2018: 835
Intestine
22.1%
2019: 81
2018: 104
Heart-lung
40.6%
2019: 45
2018: 32
Vascular composite allograft
36.4%
2019: 15
2018: 11
*Based on OPTN data as of Apr. 1, 2020. Data subject to change based on future data submission or correction.
Facts about organ transplantation
- The national organ transplant system
- UNOS fast facts
- FAQs
- Improving access for liver allocation
- Improving access for kidney and pancreas allocation
- Organ Procurement Organizations: Increasing organ donation
- Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health
- UNOS LabsSM: Testing products, tools and methods to improve the transplant system
- Improving Organ Procurement and Oversight
- 10 things UNOS is doing to increase organ utilization
- Organ donation again sets record in 2019
Donation and transplantation data
UNOS’ online database, UNetSM, contains OPTN data regarding every organ donation and transplant event occurring in the U.S. since October 1, 1987. It enables the donation and transplantation community to cooperatively and efficiently share the limited number of donated organs.
- View national data
- View regional data
- View state and category data
- View center-specific transplant data
* More than 6,200 candidates died in 2018 while on the wait list, or within 30 days of leaving the list for personal or medical reasons, without receiving an organ transplant.