From Donate Life America:
National Donate Life Month – 2026 Donation & Transplantation Statistics (PDF)
● In 2025, more than 49,000 transplants from 23,788 donors brought renewed life to patients and their families and communities.
● More than 100,000 people are waiting on the national transplant waiting list for lifesaving organ transplants.
● Nearly 60% of patients on the national transplant waiting list are from multicultural communities.
● Another person is added to the national organ transplant waiting list every 8 minutes.
● 13 people die each day while waiting for a transplant. Over 5,600 people in the U.S die each year while on the transplant waiting list.
● 86% of patients on the waiting list are waiting for a kidney. The average waiting time for a kidney from a deceased donor is 3 to 5 years. A kidney from a living donor offers patients an alternative to years of dialysis and time on the national transplant waiting list (the living donor’s remaining kidney will increase in size, doing the work of two healthy kidneys).
● 9% of patients waiting are in need of a liver. Living donation of part of the liver can help these patients (the remaining portion of the donor liver will regenerate within 4 months and regain full function).
● More than 40% of all deceased donors are age 50 or older; 9% are age 65 or older.
● A single tissue donor can help more than 75 people.
● More than 85,000 corneal transplants helped to restore sight.
● More than 170 million people are registered organ, eye and tissue donors. *
- Living donation is not included in your deceased donor registration.
Also: Living Donors (2025): Living organ donations continued to grow, with 7,237 people donating.
