Facts About Organ Transplants
Did You Know?
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More than 98,000 Americans are currently on the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant.
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Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list – or an average of 245 people being added to the waiting list each month.
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On average, 18 people die every day from the lack of available organs for transplant.
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Seven percent of people on the waiting list—over 6,500 —die before they are able to receive a transplant.
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One deceased donor can provide organs to save eight people’s lives and can provide tissues that can improve the well-being of more than 50 recipients.
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Organ recipients are selected based primarily on medical need, location and compatibility.
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To date, 417,205 transplants have occurred in the U.S. since 1988.
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Organs that can be donated after death are the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas and small intestines. Tissues include corneas, skin, veins, heart valves, tendons, ligaments and bones.
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A healthy person can become a 'living donor' by donating a kidney, or a part of the liver, lung, intestine, blood or bone marrow.
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More than 6,000 living donations occur each year. One in four donors is not biologically related to the recipient.
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The buying and selling of human organs is not allowed for transplants in America, but it is allowed for research purposes.
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In most countries, it is illegal to buy and sell human organs for transplants, but international black markets for organs are growing in response to the increased demand around the world.
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Click here to learn about Transplant Tourism
Sources: Donor Alliance, United Network for Organ Sharing, American Kidney Fund, American Association of Kidney Patients, National Kidney Foundation.
