U.S. Government Information on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation

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TERMS AND TOPICS

Allocation—The process of determining how organs are distributed.

Brain Death—Brain death occurs when the brain is totally and irreversibly non-functional. Brain death is caused by not enough blood supply of oxygen which causes the brain cells to die.

Candidate—A patient who has been placed on the National Waiting List for solid organ transplantation.

> Find Out More Terms and Topics

MORE STATISTICS & FACTS

OPTN (Organ Procurement Transplant Network)
This site will allow you to design advanced data searches

Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients
(SRTR) In-depth statistics and graphs

Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Donation and Transplantation

UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing)

OPTN Contractor

American Society of Transplantation

Site for transplant professionals

Center for International Blood & Bone Marrow Transplant Research

THE GAP CONTINUES TO WIDEN

Right now, there are more than enough people waiting for an organ to fill a large football stadium twice over!

> Recipient Disparity Graph (PDF - 56KB)

Statistics & Facts for People Over 50

More than 94 million individuals in the U.S. are 50 years of age and over. If the majority of people in this age group signed up to be organ donors, imagine how many more lives could be saved!

People of all ages can sign up to be donors. In their 50s … 60s … even into their 80s and older. And, people over 50 can be transplant recipients as well.

Here are some statistics and facts about organ donation for people over 50:

Your age doesn’t make you ineligible to sign up, nor do you have to be in perfect health. Your ability to donate is determined at the time of death.
Organ and tissue transplants are needed by people in every corner of America. People of all ages, infants to grandparents, are on the national transplant waiting list.
Two thirds of the individuals waiting for an organ transplant in 2008 were 50 years old or older. That year 2,216 deceased donors were between 50–64 years of age. Seven hundred and twenty-five deceased donors were 65 or older.
In 2008, 15,764 of the 27,965—or 56.3%—of the people transplanted were 50+.
According to the 2005 National Survey of Organ and Tissue Donation Attitudes and Behaviors, conducted by The Gallup Organization, 20.13% of people over 65 years of age mistakenly think they are too old to donate an organ while 11.73% believe they are too old to receive one.
As of January 2010, according to OPTN, there are 47,734 people between 50 and 64 years old on the national waiting list and 17,689 people over 65 years old on the national waiting list.

> More about people over age 50 and organ donation