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Organ transplants in US set sixth consecutive record in 2018

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The 36,527 organ transplants performed in the United States in 2018 set an annual record for the sixth straight year, according to preliminary data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. Since 1988, the first full-year national transplant data were collected, organ transplants have exceeded 750,000.

In a press release, UNOS said the number of transplants using organs from both deceased and living donors increased by 5% during 2017. Approximately 81% (29,680) of the transplants performed in 2018 involved organs from deceased donors. Living donor transplants accounted for the remaining 19% (6,849). The number of living donor transplants represented the highest total since 2005 and increased nearly 11% during 2017.

In 2018, 10,721 people provided one or more organs for transplantation as deceased organ donors. This was a 4% increase over the 2017 total, and it continues an 8-year trend of increased donation, according to UNOS. Of the 58 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) coordinating deceased organ donation nationwide, 41 (70%) experienced an increase in donors from 2017 to 2018, including at least one OPO in each of UNOS’ 11 regions.

“A key to continuing the success of the field is to support efficient decision-making and improve communications among OPOs and transplant centers,” Brian Shepard, CEO of UNOS, said in the release. “We are working on a number of innovation projects to increase the efficiency of these key processes.”

As in several previous years, some of the increase in deceased donation is due to increased usage of donors with a broader set of medical criteria than was considered in the past, UNOS said. Nearly 20% of donors in 2018 donated after circulatory death as opposed to brain death. Nine percent of deceased donor kidney transplants involved organs with a kidney donor profile index (KDPI) score of 86 or higher, which may function less time compared to a low KDPI kidney. However, using kidneys with higher KDPI scores may also shorten the waiting time for transplant candidates, according to the release.

Reference:

https://unos.org/organ-transplants-in-united-states-set-sixth-consecutive-record-in-2018/