Organ Transplant Waiting List Statistics

The following organ transplant waiting list statistics demonstrates the generosity of our regional community. In 2019, a record number of Wyomingites registered their decision to become organ, eye and tissue donors, leading to a record number of transplants. Not only did those transplants heal trauma and disease and restore sight to patients, but they saved the lives of many of our community members. Despite that, there is still a great need for transplants – if you aren’t registered, sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor and provide hope to our community.

• 191 generous organ donors in 2019 made 596 lifesaving transplants possible in our area.
• A record 2,118 generous tissue donors provided THOUSANDS of lifesaving and healing gifts to patients suffering from trauma or disease in 2019 in our area.
• A record 2,699 eye donors in our area in 2019 resulted in 2,715 sight-restoring corneal transplants.
• Nearly 150 people in Wyoming are currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

• An average of 95 organ transplants take place every day in the United States.
• 39,718 organ transplants were performed using organs from both deceased and living donors in 2019, marking the seventh consecutive record-setting year for transplants in the U.S.
• In 2019, 81% (32.321) of the transplants performed involved organs from deceased donors. Living donor transplants accounted for the remaining 19% (7,397).
• Organs were recovered from 11,870 deceased organ donors in 2019, a 10.7% increase over 2018 and continues a nine-year trend of record-setting donation.
• In the 30-year span from 1988 through 2018, the total number of organ transplants exceeded 750,000 nationwide.
• Every 10 minutes someone is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.
• Nearly 115,000 people nationwide are currently waiting for a life saving transplant.

Once a healthcare provider determines that a patient requires an organ transplant, they are placed on the organ transplant waiting list until an organ becomes available. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the national organization that sets allocation policy and matches donors to recipients. The UNOS allocation criteria is a combination of donor and transplant candidate medical data and the location of the transplant and donor hospitals.

Donor Alliance ensures that lifesaving organ and tissue donations are safely and swiftly recovered and then received by those in our community waiting for a lifesaving transplant. The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank facilitates cornea donation in most of Wyoming. The Utah Lions Eye Bank recovers and facilitates cornea donation in Sweetwater, Uinta and Lincoln counties.