Public mistrust linked to drop in deceased donor organ donations and kidney transplants

WASHINGTON– Organ donations from recently deceased people fell last year for the first time in more than a decade, leading to a decline in kidney transplants, according to an analysis released Wednesday that highlights signs of public distrust in the lifesaving system.

In the United States, more than 100,000 people are on the list of people eligible to receive an organ transplant. The vast majority need a kidney, and thousands die every year waiting.

The nonprofit Kidney Transplant Collaborative analyzed federal data and found that 116 fewer kidney transplants were performed last year compared to 2024. That small difference is a red flag because the analysis traced the decline to some rare but frightening reports of patients being prepared for organ harvesting despite signs of life.

These planned harvests have been halted and the United States is developing additional safeguards for the transplant system, which saves tens of thousands of lives each year. But it shook public trust, prompting some people to remove their names from donor lists.

Dr. Andrew Howard, who heads the Kidney Transplant Collaborative, said last year’s decline in kidney transplants would have been greater without a slight increase — about 100 — in transplants from living donors, when a healthy person donates one of their kidneys to someone in need. The collaboration advocates for an increase in living donations, which represent only a fraction of the approximately 28,000 kidney transplants annually.

With the exception of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, organ transplants are increasing year over year. The drop in the number of deceased donors last year did not translate into an overall decrease in transplants: There were just over 49,000, compared to 48,150 in 2024. Heart, liver and lung transplants continued to see gains, according to federal data. Howard said this is likely due to differences in how different organs are evaluated and allocated for transplantation.

The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations was not involved in Wednesday’s analysis but expressed concern, calling on its members, hospitals and federal regulators “to come together to restore public trust and strengthen this critical system.”

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