U.S. Organ Procurement Organizations Recovered Record Number of Organs in 2024 While Looming Federal Policies Jeopardize Patients

Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) increased life-saving organ donations nationwide 14 years in a row, despite misaligned federal policies that risk patient lives and Americans' ability to donate.

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) is proud to recognize that OPOs across the U.S. recovered over 45,000 organs for lifesaving transplants in 2024 – more than in any previous year. This historic milestone, which also marks 14 consecutive years of growth, comes as federal policy misalignment fuels the rising rate of recovered organs that go unused, driving OPOs to seek collaborative solutions to save more lives.

OPOs continue to drive year-over-year success through constant innovation, partnerships with transplant centers, a focus on health disparities, and a commitment to honoring every donor's ability to save a life. In order for the donation and transplant community to achieve AOPO's stated goal of 50,000 organs transplanted in 2026, federal policies need to clearly reflect each stakeholders role in the organ donation and transplant process and ensure alignment to maximize the transplantation of every viable donated organ.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must align disparate policies that simultaneously mandate OPOs to make more organ donations possible, while disincentivizing transplant centers from transplanting many of those organs offered for their patients. This disconnect between key stakeholders has contributed to a growing number of organs going unused. Organs from donors who were older or had more complicated medical histories are the most likely to go unused, even though those organs can save lives. In 2024, OPOs recovered 9,275 kidneys, which were declined and ultimately not used, contributing to an 83% increase in kidney nonuse over the last five years.

When an organ is declined so many times that it is in danger of going unused, OPOs can offer it to transplant centers with patients who may be a good match for the organ, even if they are not next in line. This is an emergency protocol known as expedited placement, or out-of-sequence allocation, and has been permitted for years by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). OPOs must record all out-of-sequence placements to the OPTN, which keeps records of every case.

OPOs and transplant centers have repeatedly asked the federal government to revisit policies to make it easier for transplant centers to accept the organs OPOs offer. Recently, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) began prioritizing patient transparency by permitting the OPTN to resume exploring new out-of-sequence protocols after halting that work in 2024.

While government intervention is crucially needed to systematically address organ non-use, more immediate solutions are necessary to manage this issue now. OPOs are not waiting and have been at the forefront of progress. Over the past year, OPOs have hosted eleven Transplant Growth Collaborations to share successful practices between system stakeholders. During these meetings, high-performing transplant centers and OPOs work together to save more lives by acknowledging challenges and developing solutions for reducing non-use and, by extension, the need for expedited placement.

In addition, CMS policies may automatically decertify as much as 42% of the nation's 55 OPOs when they go into effect in 2026. CMS has issued no plan to prevent nationwide disruption, which would jeopardize the lives of patients awaiting transplants and interfere with Americans' heroic desires to donate. When Congress established the national organ donation and transplant system over 40 years ago, OPOs were chartered to guide Americans through the donation process, supporting donors' families through tragedy, and ensuring the gift of life is realized.

AOPO is acutely concerned the national system will not function if nearly half of our nation's OPOs are shut down. The U.S. donation and transplant community is united in advancing systemwide improvements. AOPO supports policies, which hold OPOs accountable for factors within their control and identify pathways to enhance performance. However, without careful coordination, these changes could lead to further misalignment within the system and have severe consequences for donors and patients awaiting lifesaving transplants.

"As OPOs continue to break records and save lives year after year, we must seize this momentum to address the systemic issues that would hinder the potential of our nation's organ donation and transplantation system," said AOPO President and Gift of Life Michigan Chief Executive Officer Dorrie Dils. "The progress we've achieved proves the system's resilience, but with federal support and collaboration, we can go even further to reduce organ non-use, save more lives, honor more donors and protect the system for future generations."

For the past five years, AOPO has called on CMS to address imminent threats to the long-term stability of the donation and transplant system due to its regulations that become effective in 2026. With potential disruptions less than one year away, it is imperative patients, donor families, doctors and donation advocates call on CMS and their lawmakers to encourage expeditious and decisive action. The health and well-being of over 100,000 patients currently waiting for lifesaving transplants depend on it.

According to recently confirmed data from the OPTN, in 2024:

• A record 45,217 organs from deceased donors were transplanted, saving 39,505 lives.
• An average of 132 organ transplants were performed daily.
• 16,989 Americans became deceased organ donors.
• 34 OPOs recovered more donors in 2024 than in 2023.
• 34 OPOs also set records for the most donors recovered in their regions during a single calendar year.

About the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO)
The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) is the not-for-profit trade association leading the nation's organ donation community to save and improve lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Founded in 1984, AOPO advances organ donation and transplantation by driving continual improvement of the donation process, collaborating with stakeholders, and sharing successful practices with its 47 member OPOs. AOPO envisions a future where every opportunity for donation results in lives saved. For more information, please visit www.aopo.org.

Media Contact:
Jenny Daigle
[email protected]

SOURCE Association of Organ Procurement Organizations