Organ Donation and Transplantation Statistics
As of September 8, 2014 by United States Renal Data System, UNOS, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) Annual Report.
There are currently 123,175 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the U.S. Of these, 101,170 await kidney transplants. In 2013, 16,896 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Of these, 11,163 kidney transplants came from deceased donors and 5,733 came from living donors.
2013 Living Donor Age Breakdown:
- Ages 18-34: 29.8%
- Ages 35-49: 40.9%
- Ages 50-64: 27.2%
- Age 65+: 2.1%
2013 Living Donor Gender Breakdown:
- Male: 38.6%
- Female: 61.4%
2013 Living Donor Ethnicity Breakdown:
- White/Caucasian: 69.5%
- Black: 11.1%
- Hispanic: 13.9%
- Asian: 3.9%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.4%
- Pacific Islander: 0.3%
- Multiracial: 0.9%
2013 Living donor relationship to recipient:
- Parent to child: 477
- Child to parent: 863
- Identical twin: 10
- Full sibling: 1,056
- Half sibling: 58
- Other relative: 422
- Spouse or life partner: 690
- Unrelated paired donation: 462
- Unrelated anonymous donor: 177
Other Key Facts
On Average:
Nearly 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month.
12 people die each day while waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.
Every 14 minutes someone is added to the kidney transplant list.
In 2013, 4,453 patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant.
Acceptable organ donors can range in age from newborn to 65 years or more.
Donor organs are matched to waiting recipients by a national computer registry called the National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). This computer registry is operated by an organization known as the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which is located in Richmond, Virginia.
Becoming a Donor
To identify yourself as an organ donor, visit the Donate Life America website at www.donatelife.net and choose your state of residence to learn about the options in your area, which might include:
- Joining your state's online registry for donation, if one is available.
- Declaring your intentions on your driver's license.
- Signing a donor card, which is available on our website by clicking here.
Signing a donor card, registry or driver's license is a good first step in designating your wishes about donation, but letting your family or other loved one's know about your decision is vitally important. That's because family members are often asked to give consent for a loved one's donation, so it's important that they know your wishes.
Facts and statistics provided by the United States Renal Data System, UNOS, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) Annual Report.