Organ Facts

Understanding Transplant Statistics

Because each transplant candidate's situation is unique, many factors should be considered when choosing a transplant center. Understanding particular waiting times and survival rates may be useful when making a decision.

Waiting Time

The length of time it takes to receive a transplant is governed by many factors, including blood type, severity of illness (heart and liver), other medical criteria, as well as the number of patients listed who have similar needs and characteristics. Factors such as race, gender, age, income or celebrity status are never considered when determining who receives an organ. Compare waiting times for centers now

Survival Rates

Advances in the field of transplantation provide recent transplant recipients with a significantly better chance of long-term survival than recipients transplanted a few years ago.

However, it is important to understand that transplantation outcomes are very complex and impacted by many factors. What statistics often don't represent is why graft and patient survival rates vary from center to center. Find out more

Long and short-term success in transplantation is often dependent upon the quality of the medical care, the age and health of the recipient at the time of transplant, and the condition of the donated organ. Increasing the donor pool to include expanded criteria donors and aggressive follow-up with the latest immunosuppressive medications also impact survival rates.