More kidney transplants occurred in the U.S. in 2024 than ever before, with 27,759 transplants recorded by the end of December. That’s according to preliminary data released by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

The network announced that there were 48,149 organ transplants overall, a rise of more than 3 percent compared to 2023 and an increase of more than 23 percent over the past five years. See the OPTN news release for more details at https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/news/organ-transplants-exceeded-48-000-in-2024-a-33-percent-increase-from-the-transplants-performed-in-2023/
The kidney is the most frequently transplanted organ, and the most needed.
Living donors made 6,418 kidney transplants possible in the U.S. during 2024. That is the highest number since 2019. It represents an increase of 129 donations – more than a 2 percent – from in 2023.
While the most common age range of living kidney donors remains 35 to 49, recent years have seen an increasing number of living donors aged 50 and older. In 2024, there were 475 living kidney donors aged 65 and older, higher than ever before. The number of living kidney donors 65 and older has more than doubled since 2016.
In our area, Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) reported that its Regional Center of Excellence for Transplantation and Kidney Care performed 143 kidney transplants in 2024. Living kidney donors accounted for 10 of those transplants, with the generosity of deceased donors and their families allowing for 133 local kidney transplants.
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