25 Facts About Organ Donation and Transplantation

The success rates of transplant surgery have improved remarkably, but = growing=20 shortages exist in the supply of organs and tissues available for=20 transplantation. Many Americans who need transplants cannot get them = because of=20 these shortages. The result: some of these people die while waiting for = that=20 "Gift of Life."

Each year, the National Kidney Foundation develops special public = education=20 programs aimed at increasing public awareness of the need for organ and = tissue=20 donation. Learning more about organ and tissue donation will help every = American=20 to make an informed decision about this important issue. Here are some = facts=20 everyone should know:

104,748 U.S. patients are currently waiting for an organ = transplant; more=20 than 4,000 new patients are added to the waiting list each month.
Every day, 18 people die while waiting for a transplant of a vital = organ,=20 such as a heart, liver, kidney, pancreas, lung or bone marrow.
Because of the lack of available donors in this country, 4,573 = kidney=20 patients, 1,506 liver patients, 371 heart patients and 234 lung = patients died=20 in 2008 while waiting for life-saving organ transplants.
Nearly 10 percent of the patients currently waiting for heart = transplants=20 are young people under 18 years of age.
Acceptable organ donors can range in age from newborn to 65 years = or more.=20 People who are 65 years of age or older may be acceptable donors, = particularly=20 of corneas, skin, bone and for total body donation.
An estimated 12,000 people who die each year meet the criteria for = organ=20 donation, but less than half of that number become actual organ = donors.
Donor organs are matched to waiting recipients by a national = computer=20 registry, called the National Organ Procurement and Transplantation = Network=20 (OPTN). This computer registry is operated by an organization known as = the=20 United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which is located in Richmond, = Virginia.
Currently there are 58 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) = across the=20 country, which provide organ procurement services to 250 transplant=20 centers.
All hospitals are required by law to have a "Required Referral" = system in=20 place. Under this system, the hospital must notify the local Organ = Procurement=20 Organization (OPO) of all patient deaths. If the OPO determines that = organ=20 and/or tissue donation is appropriate in a particular case, they will = have a=20 representative contact the deceased patient=E2=80=99s family to offer = them the option=20 of donating their loved one=E2=80=99s organs and tissues.
By signing a Uniform Donor Card, an individual indicates his or = her wish=20 to be a donor. However, at the time of death, the person's next-of-kin = will=20 still be asked to sign a consent form for donation. It is important = for people=20 who wish to be organ and tissue donors to tell their family about this = decision so that their wishes will be honored at the time of death. =
All costs related to the donation of organs and tissues are paid = for by=20 the donor program. A family who receives a bill by mistake should = contact the=20 hospital or procurement agency immediately.
Tissue donation can enhance the lives of more than 50 people. = Donated=20 heart valves, bone, skin, corneas and connective tissues can be used = in vital=20 medical procedures such as heart valve replacements, limb = reconstruction=20 following tumor surgery, hip and knee joint reconstruction and in = correcting=20 curvature of the spine.
In 2008, a total of 14,208 organ donors were recovered in the U.S. = Of=20 these, 7,990 were cadaveric donors, which represented a decrease over = the=20 total of 8,019 in 2006. Living donors decreased from 6,732 in 2006 to = 6,218 in=20 2008.
Donor organs and tissues are removed surgically, and the = donor=E2=80=99s body is=20 closed, as in any surgery. There are no outward signs of organ = donation and=20 open casket funerals are still possible.
Acceptable organ donors are those who are "brain dead" (whose = brain=20 function has ceased permanently) but whose heart and lungs continue to = function with the use of ventilators. Brain dead is a legal definition = of=20 death.
Organ transplant recipients are selected on the basis of medical = urgency,=20 as well as compatibility of body size and blood chemistries, and not = race, sex=20 or creed.
Advances in surgical technique and organ preservation and the = development=20 of more effective drugs to prevent rejection have improved the success = rates=20 of all types of organ and tissue transplants.
About 94.4 percent of the kidneys transplanted from cadavers = (persons who=20 died recently) are still functioning well at one year after = surgery.
The results are even better for kidneys transplanted from living = donors.=20 One year after surgery, 97.96 percent of these kidneys were still = functioning=20 well.
Following are one-year patient and organ graft survival = rates:

Organ Patient
Survival Rate Graft
Survival Rate

Kidney = (cadaveric)
Kidney (live donor)
Liver

94.4%
97.9%
90.1%

89.0%
95.1%
82.0%

Following is a comparison of the numbers of organ transplants done = in 2008=20 and the numbers of individuals who are on the national waiting list as = of=20 November 2009.

Organ Number of
Transplants in 2008 Number of Patients
on Waiting List*
(of November = 2009)

Kidney
Kidney/Pancreas
Pancreas
Liver
Heart
H= eart/lung
Lung
Intestine

Total:

16,520
837
436
6,319
2,163
27
1,478
185=

27,965

82,364
2,220
1,488
15,915
2,884
83
1,863229

107,046

Of the 13,156 single kidney transplants performed in 2008, 5,968 = were from=20 living donors and the rest were from cadaveric donors. In addition, = 837=20 kidneys were transplanted in combination with pancreas = transplants.
Over 2,500 bone marrow transplants were performed in the U.S. in = 2004.=20 Marrow is collected from a pelvic bone using a special needle while = the=20 volunteer donor is under anesthesia. The majority of bone marrow = transplants=20 are done for leukemia.
In the United States fewer than 2.5% of patients with end-stage = kidney=20 disease undergo transplantation as their first treatment or therapy. = The=20 National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to educating kidney patients = about the=20 benefits of pre-emptive transplantation - when a person is able to go = straight=20 to transplant without dialysis they usually have good health outcomes. =
2008 was the first time in 20 years that there was a decline in = the number=20 of deceased donors used for transplants. Living donors in 2008 were at = their=20 lowest numbers since 2001.
Virtually all religious denominations approve of organ and tissue = donation=20 as representing the highest humanitarian ideals and the ultimate = charitable=20 act.

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The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance Charity = Seal provides=20 the giving public with an easily recognizable symbol which certifies = that the=20 National Kidney Foundation meets the comprehensive standards of = America's most=20 experienced charity evaluator.