The demand for organ transplants in the United States continues to outpace supply, with over 105,000 individuals awaiting life-saving procedures as of May 2025. Kidneys remain the most sought-after organ, accounting for nearly 87 percent of all transplant candidates. This significant need underscores the ongoing challenges in organ donation and allocation across the country. Trends in transplantation rates While the waiting list for organs remains long, there have been notable improvements in transplantation rates for certain organs. For instance, the rate of lung transplants per million inhabitants in the United States nearly doubled from 4.9 in 2008 to 9.1 in 2023. This increase reflects advancements in medical technology and improved organ procurement processes. Liver transplants Liver transplants are the second most common type after kidney transplants. In 2024, individuals aged 50-64 received the highest number of liver transplants, with 4,949 procedures performed for this age group. California led the nation in liver transplants performed in 2024, followed by Texas, highlighting regional variations in organ availability and medical capabilities.

At the end of March 2024, there were 5,898 patients on the active transplant list in the United Kingdom (UK) waiting for a kidney transplant. The number of individuals waiting for a kidney transplant dwarfed the number of patients waiting for any other organ in the country. Those waiting for a liver transplant had the second-highest number of active patients at 639, followed by 297 waiting for kidney and pancreas transplant. Transplant activity in the UK In the period 2022/23, 2,263 kidney transplants took place in the UK. In the year 2020, the rate of kidney transplant was 46.6 transplants per million population, the highest rate of any organ transplantation in that year. Liver transplants had a rate of 13.5 transplants per million, and then heart transplants followed with a rate of 2.9 per million population. Kidney transplants in the rest of Europe With a kidney transplant rate of 46.6 per million, the UK had the sixth-highest rate in Europe in 2022. Spain had the highest rate, with 72.9 transplants per million population.

The age group with the largest number of individuals on the transplant waiting list in the U.S. as of May 7, 2025 was those aged 50-64 years. This age group had 44,025 patients waiting to receive transplants at that time. There is an extensive need for organ donations in the United States. Organ donations In the U.S. deceased donors can donate kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, pancreas and intestines. Living donors can donate one kidney, one lung or a portion of the liver, pancreas or intestine. Organs are donated mostly from middle-aged U.S. adults. Among all age groups, those aged 50 to 64 years had the highest number of organ donors in 2024. Waiting lists The number of organ donors in the U.S. has increased dramatically since 1988. Despite such a dramatic increase in the number of donors, there is still a great need among U.S. patients. As of May 2025, the organs with the most patients waiting for transplants in the U.S. were kidneys and livers. Over 91 thousand patients required a kidney at that time.

As of October 2024, almost 6,000 patients in Italy necessitated a kidney transplant. This was by far the organ most commonly needed by patients on an organ donation waiting list. In the same year, on hold for a liver transplant were 988 patients, whereas 723 ill individuals were waiting for a new heart. Lastly, 270 patients on the waiting list required a lung transplant and 179 of them a new pancreas. The steady decline of patients on a kidney waiting list that occurred in the last few years impacted the total number considerably. Willingness to donate organs Explicit consent or dissent is the principle ruling organ donation in Italy. Recently, the formal declaration of willingness to donate organs has become increasingly widespread among Italians. This may be due to the possibility – newly introduced in many Italian cities – to release a written statement in conjunction with the renewal of the identity document. In 2024, the number of organ donors peaked, with 2,110 individuals.   Deaths among patients waiting for a transplant Furthermore, the total number of people who died while waiting for an organ donation decreased over the last years. Indeed, the number of deaths among patients on the liver, heart, lung, and pancreas waiting list declined. However, the number of deaths among individuals waiting for a kidney remained quite high, adding up to 177 individuals in 2023.  

In 2024, there were around **** thousand individuals on the Eurotransplant organ waiting list. Approximately **** thousand individuals active on the waiting list were waiting for a kidney transplant, while approximately *** thousand individuals were on the list for a liver transplant.

In 2023/24, over 3.7 thousand organ transplants took place in the United Kingdom. The number of organ donors had increased year-on-year between 2014/15 and 2018/19, although numbers dropped in the subsequent COVID pandemic affected years. Type of organs donated The majority of transplants in the UK were kidney transplants, with over 2.4 thousand transplants of this kind carried out. A further 854 were liver transplants, followed by 237 heart transplants. The rate of organ donations in the United Kingdom amounted to 65 per million population in 2022. Transplant waiting list in the UK There were 5,898 patients on the active transplant list in the United Kingdom waiting for a kidney transplant as of March 2024. The number of individuals waiting for a kidney transplant was drastically higher than the number of patients waiting for any other organ in the country. Those waiting for a liver transplant had the second-highest number of active patients at 639, followed by 297 waiting for a kidney and pancreas transplant.

In March 2024, there were 7,484 patients active on the transplant waiting list in the United Kingdom, the highest number in the given period. Since 2010, the number of patients waiting for a transplant were decreasing probably since the number of transplants have generally increased over the same time period. What organs are required? Almost 5.9 thousand of the 7,484 patients on the active transplant list in the UK were waiting for a kidney transplant. The number of individuals waiting for a kidney transplant dwarfed the number of patients waiting for any other organ in the country. Those waiting for a liver transplant had the second-highest number of active patients at 639, followed by 297 waiting for a kidney and pancreas transplant.  Transplant activity in the UK In the financial year 2023/24, 2,448 kidney transplants took place in the UK. In 2022, the rate of kidney transplant was 37.8 transplants per million population, the highest rate of any organ transplantation in that year. Liver transplants had a rate of 13.5 transplants per million and then heart transplants followed with a rate of 2.9 per million population. 

In 2023, the majority of individuals active on the organ donor list in Germany were waiting for a kidney. At around 9.3 thousand waiting for a kidney in 2023, this was more patients waiting than in the preceding year. The number of patients waiting for other organs has also decreased across the three-year period. Transplant activity in Germany In 2023, 25.5 kidney transplants per million population were carried out in Germany, an increase from 2021 when this rate was at 23.7 per million population. Kidney transplants are the most common organ transplant procedure carried out in Germany, ahead of liver and heart transplants with a rate of 10.4 and 4 per million population respectively. Although, there were 812 patients in Germany who died on the transplant waiting list, just under half of the deceased were waiting for a kidney transplant. European comparisons The rate of kidney transplant procedures in Germany is low compared to many other European countries. In 2021, Germany ranked 23rd out of the European Union countries in the rate of kidney transplants. Spain had the highest rate with 77.7 procedures per million population.

This statistic displays the number of individuals active on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in Europe in 2024, by age. In this year, the majority of individuals on the kidney transplant waiting list were aged between 16 and 55 years, with nearly *** thousand in this age group.

The kidney is the most transplanted organ worldwide, followed by the liver and the heart. In 2023, there were a total of ******* organ transplants worldwide. Organ transplantation is frequently the best or only treatment for end stage organ failure, although transplantation can be challenging and complex. Kidney transplantation Kidney transplantation, or renal transplantation, is by far the most common type of organ transplantation worldwide. Although end stage renal disease can be treated through other means, such as dialysis, kidney transplantation is largely viewed as the best treatment option. Most kidney transplants are done in the Americas and in Europe, where there are a larger number of donors and better access to such procedures. Organ donors Organs can be donated either from a living donor or a deceased donor, depending on the type of organ. Organ donation frequency is different from country to country, as laws that permit or refuse donation vary. Spain, the United States, and Portugal have the highest rates of deceased organ donors worldwide; however, there are still high numbers of patients waiting for organ transplants. In the United States alone, there are almost *** thousand candidates waiting for organ donations, the majority of which require a kidney transplantation.

The number of organ transplants grew remarkably over time in Italy. As a matter of fact, in 2000, ***** transplants took place, whereas ***** procedures were carried out in 2024. The highest number of transplants in the period under consideration. A kidney transplant was the most common procedure carried out, followed at a considerable distance by liver and heart transplant.   Kidney donation waiting list In Italy, the kidney was the organ most often required. As a matter of fact, ***** patients were on the kidney transplantation waiting list in 2024. Moreover, the number of deaths among patients waiting for a kidney was the highest of all organs.    Organ donors In recent years, the number of organ donors considerably increased, from ***** to ***** donors between 2002 and 2024. It may be assumed that the possibility to make a declaration of intent about organ donation concurrently with the renewal of the Identity Document – recently introduced in many Italian cities – had an impact on the increase in organ donors. During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in the number of organ donors.

This statistic displays the number of individuals active on the kidney-only transplant waiting list in Eurotransplant countries in 2024, by blood group. In this year, around *** thousand individuals on the kidney transplant waiting list had the blood group O.

This statistic displays the number of kidney and pancreas patients on the active transplant waiting list in the United Kingdom (UK) as of March 31, 2024. At this point, there were 5,898 individuals on the active transplant list for a kidney.

This statistic displays the number of individuals active on the Eurotransplant waiting list for a liver transplant in 2024, by composition. During that year, ** individuals active on the Eurotransplant waiting list for a liver transplant were also waiting for a kidney transplant.

As of December 31, 2024, roughly 10 thousand patients were registered on the kidney transplant waiting list in Eurotransplant countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Slovenia). A further 365 patients were waiting for a combination of kidney and pancreas.

Overall, the number of kidney transplants from living and deceased donors increased in Italy. More specifically, between 2007 and 2024, the number of kidney transplants from deceased donors grew from ***** to ***** procedures. During the same period, the number of transplants involving living donors increased from *** to ***. Kidney transplant waiting list The number of patients active on the kidney transplant waiting list oscillated over time. It peaked in 2015, when ***** patients needed a kidney transplant. Thereafter, the number of patients waiting for a kidney gradually decreased. However, in 2024, kidney still was the most demanded organ for transplants. Organ donation In general, the number of organ donors considerably increased in Italy. As a matter of fact, in 2002 there were ***** organ donors in the country, whereas in 2024 the number reached ***** donors. The same trend can be observed in the number of organ transplants. In Italy, organ donation is regulated by the principle of explicit consent or dissent. The consent to donate organs can be expressed concurrently with the act of renewal of the identity document.  

The number of patients active on the kidney transplant waiting list in Italy fluctuated between 2008 and 2024. According to the data, the highest number of people waiting to receive a kidney was registered in 2015, with 6,952 individuals. In 2024, as of October, almost 6,000 patients were waiting to receive a kidney in Italy.

Spain had the highest rate of organ transplants in 2023, at 120.4 per million population. This rate had increased by eight procedures compared with 2022. Portugal followed in 2023 with the second-highest rate at 90.2 transplants per million. Rate of specific transplants Spain had a rate of 77.7 kidney transplants per million population in 2023, the highest rate in Europe. Additionally, Spain had approximately 26.6 liver transplants per million in 2023, making it the fourth-highest rate in Europe behind only the rate of transplants in Croatia, Italy, and Belgium. Waiting for a transplant Spain had over 9.8 thousand patients active on the transplant waiting list in 2021, with 6.9 thousand of those waiting for a kidney transplant. This was lower the 18.8 thousand patients waiting for a kidney transplant in France, the highest amount in Europe.

At the end of March 2024, there were 5,450 patients in England waiting for a kidney transplant. Meanwhile, Scotland had 485 individuals on the kidney transplant waiting list, followed by 216 and 78 waiting in Wales and Northern Ireland respectively. Kidney transplants carried out in the UK There were 2,349 kidney transplant procedures carried out in the United Kingdom in 2022/23. A considerable majority of these were carried out in England, the largest and most populous country in the UK. Overall, the number of other organ transplants increased in the UK in 2021/22 compared with the previous year, which was much more greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparisons with Europe The UK has a relatively high rate of kidney transplants compared to most European Union nations. With a rate of 3708 kidney transplants per million population in 2020. Spain had the highest rate in Europe at 72.9 transplants pmp.

This statistic displays the number of individuals active on the Eurotransplant waiting list for a pancreas transplant in 2024, by composition. During this year, *** individuals active on the Eurotransplant waiting list for a pancreas transplant were also waiting for a kidney transplant.